Love On The Expressway To Yr Skull
by ViciousBluesummers
Summary: "I don't get it." Heero stood there, head shaking. To say that he was perplexed would be an understatement. Here, in the middle of his apartment, looking down at the woman who confronted him with the most out of left field news he'd gotten in some time. "This doesn't make any sense. Sylvia..." 1xR AU
1. Chapter 1

**AN:**** I feel like I'm at a point in my other story where I want to take a bit of an intermission, or something like that. So, I've had this thing cooking in my head since, like, chapter 5 of How Soon Is Now? But I didn't know what to do about it till now. I've decided to write this and have it out there, just for my own sake. Now, I've written a fic like this before, only in that the characters are in bands, but this story has a different approach. I also don't like the idea that I wasted this kind of story on a fandom that I've since soured on as opposed to Gundam Wing, a series I will NEVER stop loving. So here this story is, and I hope you like it.**

**Track 1: All Apologies**

"I don't get it." Heero stood there, head shaking. To say that he was perplexed would be an understatement. Here, in the middle of his apartment, looking down at the woman who confronted him with the most out of left field news he'd gotten in some time. "This doesn't make any sense. Sylvia..."

"Heero…" Her green eyes focused up, giving a melancholic smile at his confused expression. "I'm sure it looks that way. But… I don't know. It's just something I have to do for myself."

"Hn." He ran both of his hands through his untamed head of hair. He shut his eyelids and kept his head tilted upwards as he bumped his head on the wall behind him, keeping it there.

"I have to leave Heero." Sylvia continued. "I'm sorry, but… this feeling I have… I can't stay. I just feel unfulfilled here. This band, this life, this… relationship." Heero wasn't moving from his current position. It was his way of telling her to keep going. He was listening. He never spoke his thoughts, and that was part of the problem if Sylvia Noventa was being honest.

She continued to look at him as if he were glaring back. "I thought I would be fine like this. Everything seemed right, but then… all of a sudden, I just started feeling hollow. This is nothing but me being completely honest with you."

She could hear Heero breathing, eyes still shut. She could see him opening and closing his fists. She'd seen that action before, a clear sign of stress and frustration exhibited by her soon to be ex-boyfriend, Heero Yuy. "I know you weren't expecting this tonight. I feel awful telling you, but after this... After I finish recording this last song for the album, I'm leaving. I'm packed up, ready to go. To where? I'm not sure. I can only say for certain that I won't be here anymore."

Heero remained silent, his eyelids opened, but his mouth remained shut, eyebrows furrowed.

"Is there anything you have to say?" She gave him the floor, wanting him to speak.

Heero's brain wasn't having the easiest time processing this. It was crunching all the numbers but nothing made sense. He wouldn't argue that their relationship was perfect, but he didn't see this coming. Not at all. He hadn't thought any of their issues warranted this kind of conclusion to their union. He loved her and he thought that went both ways.

They were two music junkies who found each other in the world of the local independent scene and connected with each other over many different albums and opinions of music. They were both in bands, each of which were creating a substantial amount of buzz in the national indie music world. Heero actually considered her a genius with the music she created with her band.

And here Sylvia Noventa was, telling him all they were a part of was over. At least for them as a pair. She was leaving him and this world they created together. Nothing made sense. He continued to look for answers, but nothing materialized.

He resumed his silence, eliciting a sigh from Sylvia. "It's that kind of emotional unavailability that's always bothered me."

That statement irked him and he snapped his head to look at her, his face translating his irritation.

"But maybe my absence will help you better yourself. Maybe I allowed you to be too comfortable." Sylvia continued. "Perhaps you couldn't change because I wouldn't let you."

Heero couldn't understand that. She was easily the most challenging person he had met in his life. That was part of the appeal. "Is that your way of saying this is all my fault?" He broke his silence.

She released a humorless chuckle. "No, this is all on me. I made this decision to leave." She looked at the clock on his wall. She had to get going. "Look… Heero. I'm here for one more day, then I'll be on the next flight out." She watched him shake his head, still not liking what he was hearing. "I have to get down to Peacemillion. We have one more track to record before we're finished with the album." Dorothy and Hilde were going to be really mad at her when she told her band-mates that this was over. "If there's anything you want to say or do before I leave, please…"

"Is there any way I can change your mind?" Heero asked, almost pleading.

Sylvia could only shake her head at him.

"Then no." Heero flatly responded. "This will be the last time we see each other.'

"Okay, then." She nodded, accepting of his answer. She studied his face before lifting a hand to caress his cheek. She felt his body go stiff as she made contact, but he eventually softened up. "I'm leaving to find myself, Heero. And… who knows? Maybe that means I realize something that leads me back to you." He gritted his teeth at that statement, refusing to make eye contact with her. "Don't think that I believe all this time we spent together meant nothing. There will always be a part of me that still loves you."

Heero's body shook at that and raised a hand to cover the one that now rested on his face. "Don't say that."

"I know, sorry. But if I'm being truthful, if I find myself coming back, knowing you'd be here waiting would make me happy." Sylvia explained with a smile.

He squeezed her hand in a gentle grip. "You can't be that selfish. For all I know… I might find someone." He didn't believe that statement went it left his lips, but it's all he could think of for a response.

"True." She nodded. "I have to say, hearing you say something like that.. It does kind of hurt. I'll have to get over that, but you with another girl? It's a little crazy." She almost laughed at her reaction to that.

Heero finally turned his head. His blue colored orbs peering down at her. Sylvia noticed something as she looked at his eyes. "You know, you have the most striking color of blue I've ever seen, and yet…" Heero waited for her to continue.

"They're still the darkest eyes I've ever stared into."

* * *

Two months passed.

Heero took a swig of whisky from his glass. He sat at the bar in Club Barge, a place where he and his band, Do You Remember?, frequently performed. He leaned over the counter, arms crossed in front of him. It was surprisingly slow Friday night. There were patrons still here and there walking about, having a drink or dancing to the music playing through the speakers, but It wasn't the usual Friday night where you could barely walk around. Maybe it was because the weather was starting to get slightly colder, he thought. He then shook his head, never stopped anyone before.

He took another careful gulp of his whisky, allowing it to slowly burn his throat. He swallowed the hard liquid before placing the glass back down. Maybe it was because the Jezebel's had been on hiatus for the past couple months. They were easily the biggest band from around, eclipsing his own in popularity. He wondered if, had Sylvia not left, they would have signed to a major label. They were definitely getting the attention for it prior to his ex's departure from the group.

He had a feeling that Dorothy would have been okay with that kind of power move. He sighed, wondering if he could do the same with his own group if the opportunity arose. He swallowed the rest of his glass before signaling to the bartender for a refill. He gripped the fresh glass and took another sip.

"Is this seat taken?" Speak of the devil.

The empty spot beside him suddenly became occupied. He looked over and saw Dorothy Catalonia sitting beside him, her incredibly long head of platinum blonde hair falling behind her.

"You're back, huh." Heero nodded at her.

"Just arrived a few hours ago." She signaled for the bartender who knew what to get her.

"How was vacation?" Heero said in his usual monotone.

She shrugged. "Just needed some time to clear my head, trying to figure out my next move. A couple weeks in Italy can be very helpful in that regard."

"Hn." Dorothy came from money, and you could tell. This would automatically raise some red flags for someone like Heero, but Dorothy proved herself to be more than just some trust fund baby. After finishing school, she had a clear focus in mind: Much like Heero, she loved music and wanted to be in a band. She was wealthy, she didn't need to come down here and play small to medium sized clubs with people not even close to the same tax bracket as her, but that never registered in her mind.

As far as she was concerned, this was where the action was. She knew this place was a hotbed for musicians and artists. This was the home of G-Team Records, where a lot of notable bands had made their name. Dorothy wanted in and she did what was necessary to create her group. She came to this town as a stranger, all alone. But being the social butterfly that she was, she mingled her way into the scene, coming into contact with Heero and Sylvia. After befriending them, Dorothy convinced Sylvia to start a band with her. They both played guitar and had a similar taste in music. They needed a drummer and they got one when Heero introduced them to Hilde Schbeiker, who was a drummer and the girlfriend to his good friend Duo Maxwell.

From there, they went and created the trio known as the ridiculously named... The Jezebels. Heero didn't have to ask to know that Dorothy came up with that name. That was three and a half years ago when they were all roughly about 22 years of age. They were 3 albums in and were the hottest group in the scene, probably in indie music as well.

Heero didn't get his band started till a year after the Jezebels formed. It took a while before he got members that he was content with being in his group. He had Duo who, like him, played guitar and backed him on vocals. They found Trowa Barton to play bass through some ads they posted online, and Wufei Chang who they were introduced to through other bands. They became Do You Remember?, a group that was mostly a vehicle for Heero's creativity. They all knew their place in the band and were comfortable as Heero being the leader.

"So, did you come up with anything?" Heero continued the conversation.

"Actually, yes." Dorothy gave a wide grin before the bartender arrived with her cup of chamomile tea. She had to be the only person in the world who drank tea at a bar, Heero figured, She lifted her cup and took a sip before answering. "After a two month absence, the Jezebels will continue."

Heero turned to her with a raised eyebrow, he knew what that meant…

"You might not like this, Heero, but I have found Sylvia's replacement." Dorothy responded to the look he was giving her. He did not want to hear about someone taking her spot. She figured Heero hated the idea of another female singing his ex-girlfriend's songs. Dorothy was well aware how stuck on Sylvia Heero still was. "Oh, enough with the looks Heero. It's my band and I will do as I please."

Heero grunted and looked away, tossing some more whisky back. He knew that. But, that still didn't mean he had to be happy about it. It didn't matter how much of a fan he was of their music, as far as he was concerned, Sylvia made them who they were.

"Hmm." Dorothy put a finger on her chin and looked up. "Actually, it won't be my band for much longer though."

Heero gave her a curious look. "Huh?"

"Well, you see dear, my friend from my old art school days will be arriving here next week and I've decided that I will be giving her complete control of the band."

"What?" Great, now some girl will have say over Sylvia's catalog, too. This did not sit well with him.

"Now I'm sure you like that even less, but that's what I've decided." Dorothy went back to take another sip of her tea. "But in all honesty Heero, if it were up to me and I could turn back time, this band would have been Me, Hilde and Relena from the start."

_'Relena… So that's her name.'_ Heero's voice echoed around his head, analyzing Sylvia's replacement's name. Not liking her already.

"Nothing against Sylvia, I loved her. But I'm sure you know how much we clashed creatively." Heero knew that two headstrong people like Sylvia and Dorothy were certain to bump heads, but they made it work and created amazing songs in the process. "Relena and I operate on the same wavelength. I won't have to worry about these silly arguments with her. That's why I have no issue ceding control over to her."

"You don't think that's a bit much? You don't strike me as the kind of person who just surrenders power like that." Heero went off what he knew about Dorothy over these past few years.

"That's because you don't know Relena like I do. We would jam together and create songs back in school. She's just as much of a music geek as the rest of us." She heard Heero snort at that, mumbling something that sounded like 'not like Sylvia'.

"My goodness Heero, It's been two months, move on." She watched as Heero's grip tightened over his glass. He could probably break it if he wanted to. "Has she even reached out to you since she left?"

"No…" Heero turned away. Having no contact with her since she left really bothered him. She didn't try to contact him… ever. He wasn't a social media guy, but he even checked that and nothing. She hadn't posted much either since then. Maybe she went off the grid? "How about you?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I'm sure she's fine." She turned over to look at Heero who just started at the glass of brown fluid in front of him. His attachment to that woman was really annoying her. "You should start dating." Heero immediately waved that thought off. She watched him pick up his glass and start drinking again. She produced a devilish smirk and turned to place a hand on her chin, elbow propped up on the bar counter. "Heero, why don't we start dating?"

Heero damn near spit up his whisky all over the counter. Luckily nothing came out and he swallowed the rest of it, the burning sensation more rough than usual. "The hell is wrong with you?"

Dorothy cackled at his reaction, getting dirty looks from him in the process. "Do you truly find the idea of courting me so appalling?"

_'Courting me.'_ Heero shook his head at those strange choice of words. "Yeah."

Dorothy only laughed again. "How come?"

"Numerous reasons." He shot back.

"Ah, yes, not the least of which being that it would probably last a week, tops." Dorothy loved having fun at the otherwise serious Heero's expense. "But I'm sure the sex would have been amazing."

Heero gave her a horrified look. "The whisky is supposed to make me vomit, not you." Once again, Dorothy's laugh could be heard throughout the club. Heero grunted in annoyance. He didn't find Dorothy ugly or anything, not at all. But… it was Dorothy. No, never.

"Okay, okay…" Dorothy was trying to recover from her hearty laugh, coming down into just giggles. "Anyway…" She exhaled after taking a breath. Laughing took a lot of you, Dorothy noted. "Let's talk shop. How's the new album coming along?"

Heero rolled his eyes at her before responding to her question. "It's going fine, I guess."

"So, am I right to assume it'll sound more like what you hinted at in _Metal Circus_?"

Heero nodded. "Something like that."

"How many songs are we looking at?" Dorothy turned to give her tea some attention.

"Over twenty I think. Recording is far from over." Heero was working on something far more ambitious than anything he had worked on before. This was looking like some sort of double album.

Dorothy placed the cup back on it's glass tray. "Wow, sounds like this has been quite an undertaking. How long have you been working on this record again?"

"Hmm… I know I started writing songs when we toured behind _Metal Circus_." He recalled the initial stages of this current records creation. "So like maybe 8 months now."

"Ah, and when do you think this album will be available for public consumption? It seems like that's the only way I'll hear it, you never let anyone other than the band in Peacemillion when you guys are recording." She gave him a pout.

"Hopefully sooner rather than later. And sorry, no distractions. I have a mission to complete." Heero stated bluntly.

"And I'm a distraction?" Dorothy knew the answer he would give.

"Absolutely."

Another Dorothy laugh filled the room. She may be a good friend, but damn did she know how to bug him. "Well can I at least get an album title?"

Heero was about to finish another glass before giving her a side eyed glance. "Hmm…" Well, he figured giving her the name of the record wasn't too big of a deal. "The name of the album is_ Zen Arcade_."

"_Zen Arcade_?" Dorothy mulled over that name for a second. "I like it."

"I appreciate the approval." he delivered sarcastically.

Dorothy giggled. "Well, I am quite excited to hear the final product. Listening party or anything planned? I know that's not really your thing."

"It isn't. No need to make a big deal about it." Heero swallowed the rest of his glass while Dorothy consumed the rest of her tea.

"You're no fun." Dorothy stated as she rose from her seat. "I think I'll be on my way home. Still have to get my body back to working with this time zone again. That's always a pain. Just wanted to see my good friends before getting settled. See you around, Heero." She leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek goodbye. She chuckled as he tried to pull away. It never worked. "Have a good night!"

Heero shook his head as he watched her exit the establishment.

So, the band was back… and with a new front woman.

_'Relena…'_ His head repeated her name._ 'Sorry, but you won't ever replace Sylvia.'_ He was sure of that. He pulled out some money from his wallet and paid for his drinks. He grabbed his jacket and decided to take off as well.

He had an album to work on.

* * *

**AN:**** This combines my two favorite things: GW and Music. I was both a huge Wing and Music nerd back in my teen years and honestly nothing has changed lol **

**Bonus Points to anyone who knows the origin to my stupid title. **

**In this story, Heero's band will be based off of ****Hüsker Dü and Relena's will be based off of the amazing Sleater-Kinney. ****Hüsker Dü means Do You Remember?, so I'm calling Heero's band ****Hüsker Dü without calling them ****Hüsker Dü lol :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Track 2: One More Hour**

"So, staying in tonight?"

"Yeah, I know it's my first day in town, but I just want to get settled, you know?"

Dorothy nodded, hand gripping the leather on her steering wheel as she drove both her and her friend, Relena Peacecraft, to the latter's new home. "In that case, I'll come over tonight and we can relax over some tea and music, like we used to. I asked Duo to install a quality sound system in your loft before you arrived, so we'll be good there."

"I'll have to thank him." Relena was grateful to have a friend like Dorothy to look out for her like that. She made sure she had a place as soon as she arrived. Relena brought as much as she could, but she still had a lot of her belongings in the process of being shipped out to her new home. "Though I can't believe Duo Maxwell did that favor for you."

"Why would that surprise you?" Dorothy didn't think that was out of the ordinary. She liked to bicker with Duo quite a bit but he was still a friend of hers. Of course he would do that favor. "I told you, I'm friends with all of them. There's no group of people I'm closer with than those guys."

"I know, I guess it's different for me because I only know them through their music. I'm kind of nervous to meet them." Relena definitely had butterflies in her stomach. Dorothy already told her that they would have a bit of a rehearsal with Hilde tomorrow at Peacemillion, the studio where the band had recorded all of their albums, among other notable groups as well. She was also told that the members of Do You Remember? would be there, a band that she liked quite a bit

"Oh, Relena, have some dignity." Dorothy rolled her eyes. "No fangirling, that's beneath you now. Starting today, you are their equal."

"I haven't recorded a single piece of original material yet, I'm hardly an equal." Relena begged to differ there.

"Well, once they see how good of a guitar player, singer and songwriter you are, they will have no choice but to view you as such." Dorothy stated confidently, knowing how much talent Relena had within her.

"That makes me even more nervous, to be honest." It's one thing to meet them, Relena thought, it's another thing to perform in front of them. Well, she was in a band now; that's what you do when you're in a band, she noted.

"You'll be fine." Dorothy responded, whipping her car wildly into a left turn. She still drove at her own speed, Relena thought as she gripped on the handle to her door. "Just imagine that they're naked, which is something you might want to do anyway considering who we're talking about. Don't tell Duo I said that, or Hilde for that matter."

Relena had to laugh at that ridiculous piece of advice. "God, Dorothy. What's wrong with you?"

"What? I mean look at them, they're a boy band disguised as a punk band. I've told them that before; they hate it." Dorothy smirked, remembering how much that annoyed the group.

Relena had to admit, they definitely were quite the collection of men. "I'm sure that's not something they want to hear." She had seen many photos and videos of the band before. Aside from being easy on the eyes, they all had their own unique look to them. Duo had his trademark braid to go along with his easy going attitude that she had heard so much about. Trowa Barton appeared to have that quiet confidence about him that he conveyed simply by that look in his eyes, or eye. Much like Duo, he also had his own signature hair style. Though in his case, it draped over half of his face instead of his back. The drummer Wufei Chang had his hair slicked back in a ponytail and sometimes appeared to be annoyed by something. Dorothy complained about his attitude problems but knew he was softy at heart.

Then there was Heero Yuy. The mastermind behind Do You Remember?

He was strange. For sure he was immensely attractive, but there was always something off about him. He never seemed comfortable in photoshoots, always looking away, never appearing like he wanted the attention. Usually when you see videos or pictures of a band or whatever kind of group, the frontman or woman was always presented at the center. All the attention made to gravitate towards them. Heero on the other hand looked like he actively tried to avoid that. Whether he hated it because it was a cliche or just how his personality worked, she couldn't say exactly which was the case. If she had to bet, however, it would probably be the latter.

You would almost be led to believe that Duo Maxwell was the leader of the band with the way he worked the crowds in live performances. He also handled most of the interviews she had read and seen. Heero only spoke when he felt he needed to it looked like.

It made her even more curious about him. Just where exactly does this come from, she wondered.

"I just hope they like me." Relena's eyes wandered out towards her window, watching the town pass by.

"They will." Dorothy knew those guys would accept Relena. Well.. there was one guy she was worried about. "Relena… I might as well warn you now." Relena looked over to her friend.

"About what?"

"Heero Yuy." Dorothy simply stated.

"What about him?" Relena wondered what Dorothy had to say about the guy who was just occupying her thoughts.

"You see…" Dorothy began. "He still hasn't really recovered from Sylvia leaving."

"Oh." Relena knew they had been in a relationship. Dorothy had told her all about them. It was weird, to leave so suddenly like that must've been a lot to process. She temporarily ended The Jezebels and broke Heero's heart at the same time.

"He had… still has a very high opinion of her." Dorothy continued. "I'm sure if it was his choice, our band wouldn't have continued after she left. And now, here you are, taking her place and playing her songs. So he may be a little reluctant to accept you right away. You'll win him over eventually, I'm sure, but right now he's still getting over his heart break, as pathetic as it is sometimes." Dorothy was getting sick of it if she was being honest. Two months. He needed to get the hell over it.

"I guess it can't be helped. I do feel bad for him. They were together for a while and she just up and left. That would shatter me, too." Relena could see where Heero was coming from. She just hoped that wouldn't mean they couldn't be friendly because of her new role. She always wanted to be in a band and she would cherish this opportunity. This was too good of a thing to pass up, especially since her good friend made her the offer.

"There's only so much more I can take; mopey Heero is not the best Heero, and if he tries to take his frustrations out on you so help me god I will kill him."

Relena appreciated that. She also hoped Heero would understand. She wasn't trying to replace Sylvia Noventa, she was there to be herself, Relena Peacecraft. The new lead singer and principal songwriter of the Jezebels.

Nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

The late afternoon rolled around on the next day. Relena found herself in Dorothy's car once again, though this time they pulled up in front of the famous Peacemillion studio where records like _Everything Falls Apart_, _Metal Circus_, _Call The Doctor, _and most recently, _Dig Me Out _were recorded.

This would be the place where Dorothy, Hilde and herself would play together as a band for the first time together. She had met Hilde a couple of times, though it was very brief. She actually never met Sylvia Noventa, oddly enough.

Relena made time to go to some shows whenever they were close enough. Dorothy always reached out and they got together after performances before she went back on the road. They exited the vehicle and Dorothy led the way through the front door. The walls were decorated with records and even a lot of weird graffiti. She recognized some names written on the wall that belonged to people from other bands that she knew. Dorothy had written her name up there, so did Hilde and Sylvia, all in very noticeable calligraphy.

She saw DO YOU REMEMBER?-DM-TB-WC-HY actually spray painted on the wall. She was curious to find out who did that. Her guess was the guy that put his initials first. Relena heard this place was established a while ago by a man named Howard. He was very much a part of the music scene here and created this studio for any kind of musician or artist that wanted to record something. Sometimes there were even performances and parties here. It sounded like an amazing place to Relena; somewhere she would enjoy frequenting for the foreseeable future.

They walked into the main recording studio in the center of the building. That was when she saw all of them. She saw Hilde sitting behind a drum set while her boyfriend Duo was beside her, being very animated while talking to Wufei. Trowa Barton was putting his bass away and getting things together. They had been working on the new album all day. Duo had to call Hilde and let her know when they were all done before she could go over.

From there her eyes scanned the room and found him at the corner of the room. Heero Yuy stood there with his arms crossed, looking away from the whole scene. He didn't look happy and that immediately worried Relena. She just had to play it as cool as she could.

"Everyone, attention over here." Everyone's eyes moved over to find Dorothy with the new girl right behind her. "Allow me to introduce to you a good friend of mine and new front woman for the Jezebels: Relena Peacecraft."

Relena felt awkward but did her best to not show it. She was still a fan at heart and she was in a room filled with people she respected. "Hello everyone, nice to meet all of you."

Hilde was the first to get up and approach. "Good to see you again. I would have never guessed that this would be the situation when we would next meet." She gave Relena a hug, welcoming her new frontwoman. "Can't wait to get started."

"Thank you Hilde, it's good to see you as well." Relena smiled at her new band-mate, appreciating the warm welcome.

"So you're Dotty's friend?" Right behind her drummer came her significant other. "Duo Maxwell, I'm sure you've heard about me." He winked at her.

'Dotty?' Since when did Dorothy go by that name? Relena smirked. "That I have."

"For the love of god, Duo… Stop." Dorothy hated that name.

"Don't play, I know you love that name. Come here, Dots." Duo slung his arm over Dorothy's shoulder and pulled her in hard enough to keep her from escaping, which she was really trying to do.

"The time will come when I strangle you to death with that damned braid of yours." Dorothy pushed off of him as hard as she could before Duo eventually released her. "Hilde, please, control this animal you call a boyfriend. He's embarrassing me."

Hilde sighed. "Believe me, everyday I try."

"Someday I'll get Heero to kick you out of the band." Dorothy continued to give Duo dirty looks as she removed her coat and handed it to Duo. He took it and looked at Relena.

"I'll take your jacket and go hang it up somewhere."

"Oh, thank you!" Relena removed it handed it to Duo. He walked off and saw Trowa Barton approach.

"Excited to see what you guys do next." He stuck out his hand and she took it. "Dorothy swears by you. So I hope you don't mind if I expect you to prove her right."

"Wow, what an asshole, putting all that pressure on the girl." Duo commented, wrapping his arms around Hilde from behind her as he returned.

Trowa smiled. "Just going by what I heard."

"Well I hope to live up to her expectations. I've never really been in a band before but I have played with Dorothy in the past. I'm sure we can do something that can blow people away and keep with the legacy of this trio." Relena didn't mind the pressure. She was here to do what she always wanted to do and she knew that if she gave it her all, everything would work out.

"You'll do fine, dear." Dorothy looked over and waved Wufei over who sighed and approached the group.

"Wufei." came the simple introduction as he signaled for a handshake. She took it and smiled.

"Your drumming was great on _Metal Circus_. Really helped make that record sound as tight as it was. I'm glad I have a chance to actually say that to you." She saw Wufei smirk at that.

"This girl knows her stuff." Wufei nodded, appreciating the compliment.

"You ain't gotta lie to him." Duo cut back in. "We've all heard better drummers. Like the one I got right here." He squeezed Hilde and got a squeal out of her.

"Duo!" she yelped.

"Hey Dorothy, let me know when you want him strangled by that braid. I'll do it for you." Wufei's eyes darkened at his band-mate.

"I'll definitely take you up on that offer." The platinum blonde then focused her attention at the last one remaining. "Heero, if you will. Introduce yourself."

Relena kept her eyes focused on him. He continued to stand at the corner of the room, barely acknowledging her presence. Wasn't looking good for her already. Everyone else looked on to see what Heero's reaction would be. They all knew he had a hard time grappling with the idea that someone was taking his ex's spot in the group.

But if you asked them all privately, they would all tell you that Heero needed to get over it. Not that they didn't feel bad for their fearless leader, but after a while it started to get old. Ever since it happened, he was moodier and less open with the group. If there was anything positive out of this, it's that he only poured himself more into the creation of _Zen Arcade_. They had gotten more work done in this past week then they originally thought they would. Heero was all music all the time. You take the good with the bad, they figured.

"Heero…" Dorothy called for him again, her voice sounding more like a warning this time.

He grunted before looking over at the girl. His Prussian eyes bore into her. Relena could feel the overwhelming intensity of his gaze wrap around her like a rough embrace. It made her feel uncomfortable. That was the look of a man that did not want her around. Well, you know what they say, Relena thought, never meet your heroes… or in this case, Heero.

"Well?" Dorothy placed her hands on her hips. She had no time for Heero's pitiful act.

"Nice to meet you…" Heero finally said, his voice low and reserved, eyes still sending daggers into the new blonde frontwoman. Dorothy sighed, she guessed that would be as good as it got.

Relena nodded her head at him. Well, at least he said something, even if she didn't believe he meant it. "Nice to meet you as well. I'm… a fan of your music." Heero just gave her an up and down look before turning his head away once again.

"Don't mind him, you know how these creative types are." Duo told her, wishing his friend would get the stick out of his ass about this whole thing.

"Yes, well, I expect better from a grown man." Dorothy huffed as she clicked her heels in the direction of her black Gibson Les Paul that she had left here for today. "Hilde, want to head to your station?" Dorothy asked as she began to get her guitar ready.

"Oh? We're starting now?" Duo released his girl as she jumped to head back behind Wufei's drum set.

"Yes we are, Hilde." Dorothy nodded. She hooked up to her guitar and was ready to go, striking the strings with her pick, liking where the sound and volume were. "Hmm…" She looked towards Relena and then at Heero.

Relena stayed in place, still feeling a little awkward from the weird Heero interaction. She looked at him again, still not moving from his spot on the wall. It was tough to know that someone she respected didn't like her, but that was the case here. Well, she would have to get passed that. At least the other guys in the band seemed okay with her.

The sound of Dorothy's heels clicked again as she walked over to Heero. He looked up to glare at his blonde friend. "Heero, darling, my friend over there… her stuff is still being sent over so she doesn't have her own guitar yet."

Heero glowered at her, not liking at all where this was going. "And?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you would let her borrow your signature Flying V for today." Dorothy asked, knowing this was pissing him off, but she was going to get him to do something nice for Relena. She cared not for his attitude.

"Why?" he growled. First he had to watch her take Sylvia's position in the group and now she had to use his guitar? "No."

"Aye… Just let her use it, Heero." Duo rolled his eyes at this stubborn friend. The other two felt the same way and headed over to sit on the couch that was set up there. Might as well get comfortable for the show… and whatever this was.

"Shut up." Heero shot at Duo. His attention returned to Dorothy. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Stop being childish, Heero. We want to play and she needs a guitar. We play the same instrument here, so why not let her use it?" His eyes shot up and went back to drilling holes into Miss Peacecraft, causing her to flinch under his angered stare. This was not going well, Relena thought.

"Duo also plays the same instrument as us, you know." Heero sent back at Dorothy.

"That fact isn't lost on me, Heero. But I'm asking you!" Dorothy wasn't giving up. She would make him cooperate whether he liked it or not. "The leader of the band called Do You Remember?" Heero was getting annoyed at all of this. "Show some leadership and let her use it. She's held one before; she won't break it."

"I… can just ask Duo." Relena didn't want to see friends fight over her. She would rather just get through this already.

"Relena… no." Dorothy's eyes remained on Heero. "Signor Yuy here will be letting you use his guitar, because he is a gentleman and a fellow musician, isn't that right, Heero?"

He wasn't happy, but it was also frustrating him to continue this stupid argument. "Okay, fine. But you owe me."

Dorothy smirked. "Whatever you want! Thank you, Heero. See, you really are a nice guy." Heero shook his head with great irritation. "Relena, that cream yellow Flying V guitar… is yours, for today anyway."

Relena sighed and shook her head. Might as well use it now since Dorothy went through all that trouble to get it for her. She headed over to the guitar that Heero had placed on a stand. She tried to be cool as she did so because she still felt Heero's pissed off glare attacking her.

His eyes scrutinized every move she made as she threw the strap over her shoulder. She had to adjust it to her body size, he was hoping she wouldn't break his treasured instrument. This ruined his day of hard work.

Dorothy headed back to her spot in front of Hilde's drums. The drummer was happy all of that was over. Things were getting too tense for her liking.

The two female guitarists continued to test out their gear before feeling comfortable enough to begin. "Now, Relena doesn't need any kind of warm up. She's good enough as is. So, is there anything in our discography that you want to play? You choose the song, love." Dorothy offered to Relena.

"Oh, well…" She thought of all the songs she knew how to play. She figured that she would go off their latest release. Relena adored that album and played along before even getting a call from her good friend. "We'll go with something from _Dig Me Out_." Relena said.

"Very well. We don't really have much experience playing anything off that record live since we went on break as soon as we finished the album. Might as well give it a shot." Dorothy liked the idea very much. "Which song?"

"Hmm…" Relena thought for a second before coming up with the obvious answer. "I really love 'One More Hour', can we play that?"

Everyone cringed as soon as she said the name of the song. Relena noticed this and looked around, feeling confused. "Um, is something wrong?" Nobody wanted to speak at first and Relena started feeling awkward again. She had no idea what she did to create this reaction. But before Dorothy began to speak, Heero decided to step in.

"Nothing's wrong." Heero's monotone sliced through. He began walking away, eyes focused on the door to the outside of the studio.

"Are you sure we can play this, Heero?" Dorothy asked as she watched him walk away. He paused for a second before leaving, giving Relena one last look.

"It's her band… she can play what she wants." He turned and left.

"Damn…" Duo spoke with a nervous chuckle. "Today is getting crazy." His band-mates nodded.

"Did… did I do something wrong?" Relena was befuddled by what happened. Why the weird reaction?

"I'll tell you later." Dorothy brushed it off for now. "Okay, let's play it, shall we?" Hilde shrugged and Relena, still confused, also decided to get past whatever just happened. "Okay… One, two, one, two, three!"

Like it was meant to be, the band started off well. Their instruments went off. Hilde's drums with an almost clumsy sounding beat while Relena and Dorothy picked at their strings on the familiar riff.

Relena walked up to the microphone and began going off. Dorothy approached her own microphone too, getting ready for whenever she would back up Relena.

_In one more hour I will be gone_

_In one more hour I'll leave this room_

_That shirt you wore those dirty boots _

_Are the things I left behind for you_

Everyone in the room was already impressed with her singing. Relena didn't try to sound like Sylvia. She brought her own to these vocals. The song started to pick up in volume…

_Oh you've got the darkest eyes_

_Oh you've got the darkest eyes_

… before exploding for the chorus with Dorothy backing up.

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed It! (It's so hard for you to let it go)_

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed it! (You never wanted to let it go)_

Duo gave his boys a look of approval. "So far so good?"

"I think so." Trowa responded. Wufei gave a nod.

_If you could talk what would you say_

_For you things were just night and day_

_Take off your shirt take off your face_

_I'll hold you close before I leave_

Dorothy smirked at Relena, telling her that 'yeah… this is gonna work out fine.' The honey blonde smiled in agreement. Playing music just felt too good. Relena's guitar pick set itself up to attack the strings once more, her hand so eager to fill the room with blissful distortion.

_Oh you've got the darkest eyes_

_Oh you've got the darkest eyes_

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed it! (It's so hard for you to let it go)_

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed it! (It's so hard for you to say goodbye)_

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed it! (You need is a little more time)_

Hilde looked on at the two women in front of her. These two had chemistry and she had to step up to match what they had. Her eyes kept with Relena as she drummed. She looked like a natural. Hilde got the feeling that this band would be okay.

_Don't say another word_

_About another girl_

_Don't say another word_

_About another girl_

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed it! (It's so hard for you to let it go)_

_I needed it! (I know I know I know)_

_Oh I needed it! (I never wanted to let it, let it go)_

The song went back to the signature riff and drum beat for a few seconds more before finally closing out the song. Relena closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she wore her smile proudly.

"Good shit!" Duo began clapping. "Voice on point, noise on point. Girl you're gonna be good."

"Have to say I agree. Good thing we'll be here all day and get to see more." Trowa chimed in, impressed with how well Relena handled herself.

"What they said." Wufei added with a grin. Yeah, she looked good up there, he would give the woman her props.

"Thank you guys, means a lot coming from you all." Relena laughed, feeling all giddy that members of a band she liked thought she was any good.

"Well, there's more to come gentleman." Dorothy smirked. "How well do you know 'Dig Me Out'?"

"I have a decent grasp on it." Relena replied, feeling incredible right now. It's a shame that Heero didn't like her, Relena's thoughts going back to the disgruntled frontman. There was something about the way he looked before leaving that made her feel strange. Did the song choice have anything to do with it? She would have to ask Dorothy later.

For now, she would play.

* * *

Outside of the studio Heero stood with his arms crossed, leaning on the door. He heard every second of her playing _that _song. Why did she go and choose that goddamn song? Heero groaned and shook his head. The power Sylvia had over him was bothering him,

He knew she wrote that song about him. She had one last track to record the night she left him. Dorothy told him that was the one. She told him that she reworked the lyrics, but didn't say why. It became clear over time. She wanted to give Heero one last goodbye.

He didn't want it.

He didn't need it.

He hated that song… And he hated it even more because it was so good.

She used her genius to taunt him before she left. It pained him greatly to hear that song. However, he did notice something weird about hearing it this time around. He had listened to it a handful of times after the album was released. Each listen hurt more than the last.

But… this time… it didn't hurt as much. Why that was, he couldn't say. Was he getting over her? Was this a sign of that?

Or maybe… it was...

* * *

**AN:**** Had to rework the lyrics to fit with Heero and Sylvia. So if you know the song, then you know I changed some things. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Sleater-Kinney - "One More Hour"**


	3. Chapter 3

**Track 3: About A Girl**

After wrapping up a long, but very fun day of jamming with her new band-mates, Relena felt incredible. They had played numerous songs from her now adopted catalog. They mostly played the ones that Relena had already taught herself. There were some songs that she still needed to learn, but if she had to play a full set somewhere, she had more than enough Jezebel songs under her belt. She never performed in front of a legit crowd before, and she would have to fight off some initial stage fright, but Relena knew what she was getting into.

She would have to get herself mentally prepared for whenever Dorothy came with the news that they had their first performance booked. Though she got the feeling that Dorothy wouldn't make that happen until she felt completely ready for it. However, Relena thought that may be sooner than later. She may not have performed in front of a sizeable live audience, but she did just play in front of the members of a punk band that she held in high regard. In some way, that may have been a bigger challenge than playing in a room in front of a bunch of strangers.

Thank goodness everything worked out. Hilde was impressed with her, Dorothy already had all the confidence in the world in her and the members of Do You Remember? who weren't named Heero Yuy had given her a huge thumbs up. As she was a fan of their work, Relena knew that they were also fans of her new band. So to get their approval was a huge deal for her. It truly made her a happy little fangirl.

She just wished that THE guy from that band had also given his cosign. She may be in a band now, but she was still a music fan at heart. Getting his 'okay' would have done wonders for her confidence.

Oh well.

Now she was outside in front of Peacemillion, hanging out with Dorothy, Hilde and the rest of the boys.

Minus Heero Yuy.

"Wait… you let Quatre hear some of the album!?" Dorothy shrieked at the news she had just received accidentally through Duo.

"Whoops." Duo chuckled. Heero knew that Dorothy would flip and Duo seemed to have forgotten that.

"I thought Heero was all top secret about it!" Dorothy's hands were placed firmly on her hips, wanting her answers now. "Was he just lying to me?"

"Well, don't get too upset." Trowa stepped in. "He's only heard two tracks and that's only because he was the one playing them."

"He's on the record, too!?" The shock to Dorothy kept coming. She looked over to Hilde. "Did you know this?" The short haired girl shook her head and shrugged.

"Duo didn't tell me anything, which is surprising since he just let the cat out of the bag." She gave her hopeless boyfriend a humorous look of disappointment.

"Don't tell Heero I said anything, got it Dotty?" Duo begged the platinum blonde.

"Oh, I'm telling. Especially after that name you just used." Dorothy slapped away the hands of Duo who tried to pull her into a hug again. "Get away from me."

"Shit." Duo sighed.

"And what exactly is Quatre doing on the album anyway?" The irritated Dorothy continued to prod for more _Zen Arcade_ related info.

"Heero asked him to come play some piano on the record." Wufei explained. "It's these short interludes that, if put together, are barely over a minute and a half long. Nothing crazy, just two tracks."

"Well that's still two more tracks than I've heard." Dorothy huffed. Relena watched this interaction feeling out of the loop. She knew Heero had been secretive about the recording of this new album, but she didn't recognize the name Quatre.

"Wait, so who's this Quatre person?" Relena decided to join in the conversation.

"Son of Zayeed Winner, the founder of G-Team Records, your new label." Trowa answered. "Good friend of ours."

"Oh, yeah I recognize that name. Didn't know there was a son." Relena knew about the founding of the company, though she didn't know much else about Zayeed's personal life. She was more interested in the community the label fostered.

"Yeah, he's the only son with a ton of sisters. Feel bad for him." Wufei snickered at his comment.

"That slippery little… Damn Quatre." Now Dorothy felt like everyone was conspiring against her, even though Hilde was just as clueless as her. "And I spoke to him a couple days ago, too. Oh, I'll get him."

"You mean in bed?" Duo grinned before having to duck a slap attempt at his face. "Whoa!"

"You deserved that one, babe." Hilde admonished her braided man.

"No, he didn't. What he deserved was for me to connect with his face!" Dorothy seethed, going for another attempt, only for Duo to evade her second attack again.

"It was a joke!" Duo defended, throwing his hands up. "We know you want you some Quatre, no use hiding it from us."

"Shut up!" Dorothy went for another strike, her face burning in the process. Relena laughed at the scene they were making. Was Dorothy interested in someone? She found that interesting. She would have to tease her friend about it later.

A cool breeze blew and Relena felt a light chill crawl up her body, causing her to shiver. It was then that she realized she forgot to grab her jacket before leaving the studio. "Damn. My phone is in there, too." She turned to re-enter the building, quickly rushing down the long hall to approach the closet that was just outside the room she had played in not that long ago. Duo had put her jacket there and like an idiot she forgot to retrieve it.

Relena grabbed it and just before she put it on, her ears picked up on something; she noticed that the door to that room was half open. What she heard was emanating from inside and It was the sound of a guitar being strummed. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she decided to take a peek.

She quietly snuck herself in and saw Heero Yuy with his back to her sitting on a chair, acoustic guitar in his possession. She had almost forgotten he was still here. They hadn't spoken to each other since he spitefully told her that she could play whatever she wanted. She wondered what he was doing, or if he planned on leaving soon. She figured he would be mad if he found her standing there, watching him. She was already on his bad side already. No need to dig a deeper hole.

She went to leave, but before that happened she heard Heero's guitar produce more sound. He was playing chords to a song that she knew. It was a song that belonged to neither him or her band, but she recognized it.

He kept playing and Relena nodded along, knowing when the singing was about to begin and Heero's voice made its presence known.

_I need an easy friend_

_I do with an ear to lend_

_I do think you fit this shoe_

_I do but you have a clue_

He got to the chorus which was Relena's favorite part of that song. As quietly as she could, she hummed along to it.

_I'll take advantage while_

_You hang me out to dry_

_But I can't see you every night _

_Free…_

_I do…_

It was interesting to hear Heero's voice strain to get a higher pitch. He was more of a baritone and when his voice got loud on a song, it was because he was yelling and barking into the microphone. Typical punk stuff. But he did well here. He had clearly played this song many times before. There was an obvious passion in his voice that was infectious. His own albums had that as well. His screams were filled with an almost animalistic fury that she hadn't heard from any other front-man before. Heero had a presence unlike any other. Even here, when he was just doing more straight forward singing. She wondered if his new stuff would see him do that more. Relena wanted to hear it whenever it was released.

_I'm standing in your line_

_I do hope you have the time_

_I do pick a number too_

_I do keep a date with you_

Now Relena heard herself softly singing along with Heero, as if his voice was somehow asking her to join.

_I'll take advantage while_

_You hang me out to dry_

_But I can't see you every night_

_Free…_

_I do…_

As Heero began picking at the strings for the solo section of the song, Relena's hands tapped along with it. She forgot she had her jacket and didn't realize her phone was slowly slipping out of the pocket it was in. The jacket kept moving until eventually her phone fell out, crashing onto the floor.

"Dammit." She bent down to pick up her phone and looked up to see Heero's narrowed eyes slice through her as he looked over his shoulder. His stare rattled her and now she felt embarrassed. He was probably wondering if she was watching him all of this time, which she kinda was but…

"Umm, sorry… I forgot my jacket." She gave him an awkward smile. He said nothing. If his eyes had the ability to make her explode on the spot, she was pretty sure he would use it on her, because Heero's glare remained focused with clear animosity aimed towards her. "I, uh, wasn't staring at you or anything. I was just… you were playing so well and…" She found it hard to communicate. His face clearly translating that he didn't want her there. His forehead was creased, and his eyes remained zeroed in on her. His silence only made her feel worse. Seconds passed and it felt like forever, furthering the tension in the atmosphere. His blue eyes were filled with absolute disdain. She had to get out of here.

"I… I'm gonna head out now. Sorry again, I just really like that song and…" She sighed, now she started to sound like an idiot. "Oh forget it, I'll just go."

"She always hated that song." Heero finally spoke, stopping Relena dead in her tracks as she attempted to leave. She looked at him and saw his vision was now focused on the ceiling.

"Huh?" Was he talking to her? Relena wasn't sure if she should press on or just leave as she had originally planned.

"She said… it was something about his voice that she didn't like." Heero continued. Relena still had no clue as to whether she should respond or not. He wasn't just holding a conversation with himself, was he? Maybe she'll just roll the dice, she concluded. Not like things could get any worse.

"Heero?"

He turned back to her, his eyes now slightly softened. He analyzed her again, this time with less spite in his stare but still with a hint of distrust. "You like that song, huh?"

Relena nervously swallowed before responding. "Yeah, I do. My older brother… Milliardo played it for me when I was young. He gave me the CD and I would listen to it all day and night. It was my favorite song off that album and I would sing it to myself a lot." She smiled at the memory that the feeling of nostalgia conjured up. A lot of her early musical memories included her brother. Her head tilted downward and Heero could tell she was having her own little moment. "It's such a simple but brilliant song. I almost wished I had written it." She chuckled and started to feel a bit silly. "Sorry." She looked back up, her blue eyes glowing at him.

Heero felt uncomfortable matching gazes with her all of a sudden. He stripped his look away from her. He swallowed a lump in his throat and quietly growled at himself. "What was that all about?" He whispered to himself. He ran a hand through his bangs and sighed. "Damn it!" He tried to compose himself.

"Heero, is everything okay?" Relena noticed he looked a little distressed all of a sudden.

He put the guitar on the floor and stood up. "It's nothing. C'mon, let's head out. Howard is gonna come and lock up soon." Heero marched over to grab his Flying V that he had already put back in its case. He walked over and passed Relena.

"Right." She took his lead and closed the door as they exited the room.

* * *

The two headed down the hallway, no one saying anything. Things still felt a little tense but it wasn't as uncomfortable as before. Relena followed behind him with Heero stealing an occasional glance behind him. His eyes still looked on her questioningly. There was still stuff about her he didn't know. Was she really fit to be the front-woman of that band? He would begrudgingly admit to himself that she could play… and sing. He would have to wait and see if that translated to good original music. This girl had a lot to prove to him. If she was going to take _her_ place in the all female trio, then she was going to have to prove that she belonged. Not like his opinion mattered, he couldn't kick her out of the band or anything.

But he would still judge her. He would not allow Sylvia's legacy to be tarnished.

Heero noticed that she had stopped following him. He turned and saw her looking up at the tagged up wall in the hallway. "Hey, c'mon." This was annoying, he thought.

She blinked at him before returning her attention to the wall. "Did you do this? Or was it Duo?" She was obviously talking about the spray painted name of the band with their initials. Heero shook his head, she was wasting time. Whatever, he would answer her dumb question.

"It was Duo." He flatly replied, hoping she would start moving again already.

"When did he do this?" Her eyes still focused on the graffiti.

Heero sighed. "Not that long after we first started." It was an idiotic move on Duo's part, he remembered.

"What made him do it?" She was probably annoying him, she thought, but she still wanted to know.

Heero moved closer to her and studied his friend's artwork. He recalled the day that he did it. "He said something about how we were gonna leave some kind of mark on this place, and maybe on music in general." They hadn't proved anything then and if Heero was being honest, they still haven't. Maybe _Zen Arcade_ would change that.

"And you guys hadn't recorded anything yet, right?" Relena looked at him, watching him stare, curious about his thoughts.

Heero nodded. "I'm surprised Howard even let us do it. We hadn't done anything at that point."

"Maybe he saw something in you guys then that you weren't aware of." She watched him shrug.

"Hn."

"Well considering how things have gone so far, I would say you guys succeeded in justifying your names being up there." Relena flashed him a smile. He had a band that he could be proud of and Howard must've seen something in Heero that made him feel like he would go on to create something special. Heero had that aura about him, she noted.

"I don't know about that." Heero shook his head.

"Oh?" Did he not agree?

"There's still things I have to prove to myself before I feel comfortable having that up there." Heero hoped that he was working on that now.

Relena picked up on that. "Is that what this new album is about for you?"

Heero felt a little embarrassed to admit it, but he nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Are you guys getting closer to finishing it?"

"I think so." Heero nodded. He put in more work on that album and he was starting to get to a point where he was feeling satisfied. Maybe he was a lot closer to the finish line than he thought. Maybe just one last push and that would be all he needed. He felt like that would have to be it anyway, he was running out of money. That was the only reason he ok'd the release of _Land Speed Record_, a live album of performance recordings. It gave him some extra cash to work on _Zen Arcade_.

"Well whenever you guys are done, I would love to hear it. I'm sure with all the work you put in, it won't be anything less than astounding." He looked down at her and received too warm of a smile for his liking. His eyes narrowed and he had to wonder how she could even look at him like that with how he treated her from the beginning.

"Hn." Moving away, he focused his attention to something else on the wall. "You do your best, too."

"Huh?" She wasn't expecting that out of Heero. She saw him study the names of the original three members of her band. Only one name was different from the current line up. She saw Heero very lightly run a hand over her name. There was something in the way he did it that made her feel bad for him. Dorothy and the rest of the band may have had it with his post break up angst, but she felt like she could understand. These kinds of things were hard for some people. Some could get over it and others needed more time. Heero probably fit into that latter group. He may have had a stoic demeanor in a lot of ways, but that didn't mean there wasn't some kind of sensitivity that was there.

"You might as well put your name up. You're a part of this world now." Heero told her, pulling his hand back, balling it into a fist.

Relena shook her head. "No, I hope things work out, and I feel like they will, but I'm not sure I have Duo's level of confidence in me to predict the future. When it feels right, I'll do it."

His eyes scrutinized the woman. She gave off a strange kindness with how she spoke. He wasn't used to that in the world of blast beats and mosh pits. She stuck out, yet she was doing all she could to prove that she belonged. Much like Dorothy, he figured she didn't come from this, but wanted to be involved in it.

And much like her friend with the forked eyebrows, he got the feeling there was nothing but a genuine love for it that dictated her actions. As reluctant as he was to accept her, he could at least see something in Relena that Dorothy had told him about. He was spending too much time on this. Heero sighed and nodded.

"Very well. Let's go." Heero began moving towards the front door to Peacemillion.

_'Maybe now we're getting somewhere.'_ Relena thought with a smile, watching him walk away. She chased after him, hearing Dorothy yelling for them to hurry up.

A very interesting first day of being in a band, Relena thought. She had a feeling her life would take a turn for the interesting from here on out.

* * *

**AN:**** Thank you for reading. Love you all. **

**Nirvana - "About a Girl"**


	4. Chapter 4

**Track 4: Zen Arcade**

"Everything alright?" The blonde haired man asked as he looked through some files in the computer on his desk.

"Hn." Heero responded with an added shrug. He leaned on the wall behind that same desk, watching as the man worked with his arms folded in front of him.

"So good as always, I see." The blonde man gave a lighthearted chuckle as he typed away.

"Your dad, Quatre?" came Heero's simple, two-worded question.

"Oh you know him." the younger Winner responded, turning in his chair to face Heero. "He's got other things to occupy his time."

Heero nodded, knowing how busy of a man Zayeed had become throughout the years. He was slowly transitioning from being the head of G-Team Records when Heero and his band had jumped on, knowing that there were far more lucrative business ventures for him out there. Quatre had pretty much decided to pick up where his dad left off. Zayeed would pop up occasionally, but it's been Quatre's show for a little while now.

Heero couldn't blame the older Winner.

"Running an independent label in this day and age isn't really what you would call a sound business move. We're lucky to still be around, quite frankly." Quatre smiled at his friend and employee.

Being employed by Quatre worked in a couple different ways. Heero created music that sold under the G-Team banner and, every now and then, he would come to work at the warehouse that stored band merch, records and other related goods. It was another way to gather funds for recording and paying rent. Heero did what he could to both live and create. He had to admit, it felt funny boxing up copies of _Metal Circus _and _Everything Falls Apart_ to be shipped out for customers.

Well, for those that still bought physical media, anyway. Basically, the hardcore.

"Thankfully Dorothy, Hilde and now Relena have developed such a large and devoted following. Those three albums definitely kept us afloat during these strange times." Quatre noticed Heero's eyes darken at his comments.

"Sylvia was there, too. Let's not forget she existed. That's her hard work on those albums you're glossing over." Heero made sure no one would forget.

"Yeah, you're right, my fault." Quatre sighed. Heero just wasn't giving her up. Even though she left him, one would think Heero was given some sort of promise of her return. So far, nothing. Everyone knew she hadn't reached out… to anyone, not just Heero. She had relationships with a lot of people here. Quatre didn't quite understand her sudden departure. Heero never liked talking about the details, only giving some vague hints here and there but nothing solid. Dorothy knew even less, just getting some weird answers about how she was doing this for herself, or something like that.

"And let's not throw Relena's name in there like that. She hasn't done anything." Last week at Peacemillion, she proved that she could play. That's it. A lot of people could play, but that didn't mean she was in Sylvia's class as a songwriter. That was something else entirely. He didn't care how highly Dorothy thought of her, he needed to see and hear for himself if she could produce anything that was even half as good as Sylvia's work.

"Still not a fan, huh?" Quatre saw this coming. Dorothy told him Heero wasn't too happy about the woman who replaced Heero's ex. But what could his friend do? That wasn't his band. He didn't have any say in the matter. Heero would just have to sit there and take it.

"What's there to be a fan about, Quatre?" Heero's eyes narrowed. "Like I said, she hasn't done anything."

"Sure, but your guys seem impressed. Trowa, Wufei and Duo all told me how well she plays."

"Quatre, you can play guitar, drums, sing, rap or whatever all your life and still not have what it takes to write a quality song." She was playing someone else's music. That proves nothing as far as Heero was concerned.

"I guess there's some truth to that." Quatre nodded. "Does that mean you're not even gonna give her a chance?"

"What does it matter?" Heero shrugged. "It's not like I can kick her out of the band."

"You have to give her a shot, Heero." Much like everyone else, the blonde man wanted Heero to get over Sylvia. Heartbreak is a terrible thing, Quatre thought, but remaining bitter like that was just as bad. It was bothering everyone around him and now he was taking it out on someone who didn't do anything to deserve his contempt. Relena just wanted to be in a band and make music. It wasn't her fault Sylvia left Heero. "She didn't create this situation. An old school friend of hers reached out and asked her to fill the void left behind. Let's just see what she can do."

"Hn." Heero focused his eyes elsewhere. What choice did he have? Of course he was going to give her a shot. There was literally nothing else he could do.

"Besides, she seems nice. I like her." Quatre smiled at his annoyed friend. "They were here early this morning, actually. Dorothy introduced us."

Heero said nothing. Yeah, she seemed nice. He recalled the small conversation he had with her after their first meeting. In all honesty, she did come off like a genuinely good person. She was respectful of the craft and admitted to being a fan of his… which still felt a little funny to him. Relena didn't give him any negative vibes and she actually kind of fit nicely within his group of eccentrics.

Were this any other situation… Heero could find himself really liking her.

But this wasn't any other situation.

"Which reminds me. I was talking to them about something that would involve you as well." Quatre crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat.

Heero gave Quatre a curious look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know that the Jezebels haven't played any shows in support of _Dig Me Out_, right?"

Heero nodded, remembering that Sylvia left as soon as recording had wrapped up.

"So, I had this idea… and you don't have to agree to this right away, you can think it out if you want, but just so you know, those girls were on board with this so it's really up to you guys." Heero gave his 'boss' a raised eyebrow. What was Quatre getting at, he wondered. What big idea did he have?

"So, what is it?"

"You've shared the same stage with them before, but now I was thinking that maybe you guys could do a bigger nationwide tour together. The Jezebels and Do You Remember?" Quatre watched as Heero tilted his head at him. "It would be great. They already have a name that draws and you guys are probably the next big thing we have going. What do you say?"

"Hmm…" Being out months at a time with those three touring the country… Honestly, it wasn't that bad of an idea. His band would benefit from their audience, although he figured there was enough crossover between their fanbases. If you liked the Jezebels, there was a good chance that you would like Do You Remember? as well, even if Heero's music was a little more abrasive.

Well, they still haven't heard _Zen Arcade._

"I… don't hate the idea. But I'll get back to you, I gotta think about how much Dorothy I can tolerate."

Quatre laughed, they would be spending a lot of time with each other if they all agreed to this. He could only imagine how much fun this tour would be. It kind of shocked him that Dorothy was so gung ho about it. Did she not remember that she would have to deal with Duo everyday also? Maybe Hilde could reign him in, he thought. Probably not, though.

"Relena…" Quatre looked at Heero who kept his eyes towards his shoes. "She's okay with this?"

Quatre wasn't sure why he would suddenly ask about her. He shrugged. "She seemed game."

"She's never even played a show yet, and now she's going on the road?" Heero wasn't sure she was ready for this. "This may be too much for her."

"Oh. now you're worried about her?" He gave Heero a wink. He was seriously spending too much time with Dorothy, Heero thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Worried about how it might affect them and, by extension, the tour."

"Well that's on those three." Quatre threw his hands up. "But I get the feeling that it'll work out. Hey, you two can use that time to get to know each other better. Maybe the more you understand Relena, the better you'll feel about your own situation."

Heero grunted, that wasn't what he was concerned about. "Whatever." What could getting friendly with Relena possibly do for him? "Anyway, when did you want to get this going?"

"Hmm, I'll obviously have some work to do but we have enough cache with most club owners to get spots. Give me some time to work my magic and we should be good to go by at least the end of this month."

"That's pretty quick." Heero's band hadn't played in a little while. All of his energy was directed at the completion of their next record. Which reminded him…

"It is." Quatre nodded. "But we have to strike while the iron is still kinda hot. We released _Dig Me Out_ over two months ago. Would've been nice to get those girls on the road when the album was still fresh. It's still doing well, but you know how that goes. It'll stop eventually, I'm shocked it's still doing numbers, honestly."

Heero wasn't, that album was amazing.

"Would have been nice to get _Zen Arcade _released, too." Quatre sighed. "Then we would have a huge tour to promote both of your records… oh well."

Heero moved from his spot on the wall and walked over to Quatre's desk. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a jewel case. He placed it in front of Quatre and backed off.

Quatre looked at the item and then back at Heero. He got a nod from the frontman and then reached over to open up the case.

It was a generic CD that had the title _Zen Arcade _written in black marker.

Quatre chuckled. "Well, okay then." Now, he had more work to do.

Heero nodded again at Quatre and then walked off, deciding to take his leave. "See you around." Quatre watched him walk out the door of his office. He grabbed the case off of his desk and gave it a look.

"Hmm, I might as well have a listen before I do anything." Quatre got up from his seat and headed for his stereo.

Finally, it was time to hear Heero's 'masterpiece'.

* * *

"Hilde… why did you bring him?" Dorothy dropped her head in her hands, feeling greatly annoyed.

"Sorry, Dorothy, he really wanted to come… for whatever reason." Hilde laughed, feeling a little bad for her band-mate.

"Aye! You don't have, like corn dogs or something I can heat up in the microwave? I kinda missed lunch!" Duo yelled as he rummaged through Dorothy's refrigerator.

"Corndogs…" Dorothy mouthed to herself in disgust. "Will you get out of my fridge?!"

Duo kept searching for… something. "There's nothing but vegetables, vitamin water and stuff like that. Let's see, I peep some kale, broccoli, cherry tomatoes… Oh you got some grapes and apples and all other types of fruit. What'd you got in this freezer… Wait, why are these fruits frozen?"

"Oh my god, Duo! If you don't want a five hundred dollar heel thrown at the side of your head then I suggest you get your ass away from my fridge! Will you please sit like a good boy for once?" Dorothy was reaching down to her foot, dead serious about tossing her footwear at him.

"You pay five hundred dollars for shoes?" Duo stepped away from her food and headed back to his spot on the couch that was also occupied by his drummer girlfriend.

"Duo, will you behave?" Hilde pleaded. She had a feeling that her boyfriend did this on purpose. He really enjoyed getting on Dorothy's nerves and she could tell.

"I'm good babe, like I said, I missed lunch." Duo defended.

"Yeah, I asked if you wanted to eat and you said no." Hilde sighed.

"I wasn't hungry then, and now I am. What do you want me to do?" Duo leaned back into couch and groaned. "Can I eat your grapes, Dorothy?"

"No, now shut up." Dorothy growled. Duo groaned again.

Relena sat there just chuckling at the whole scene. She sipped on the tea Dorothy had made everyone not named Duo Maxwell. Dorothy sure did end up meeting quite the cast of characters. Which made sense since Dorothy was something else herself. They were all hanging out at Miss Catalonia's luxury apartment located in downtown. Dorothy wanted some bonding time with her band, or whatever silly thing she called it. Unfortunately for 'Dotty', Duo decided to join in the fun.

"Hilde, I beg you, next time just leave him in his cage at home. Don't listen to him, just lock him up and walk away." Dorothy said while rubbing the sides of her head.

The short haired girl nodded and smiled. "I'll try."

"Oh c'mon, you're gonna have to get used to this, especially if we're gonna be on the road together." Duo was actually really looking forward to this. He hoped Heero would agree to it.

"Yes, well, I'll make sure we have two different tour buses. I'll only deal with you if I have to." Dorothy finally took a sip of her tea, hopefully done admonishing Duo.

"Sweet, now we don't have to worry about our van's engine blowing." Duo smirked, recalling his band's usual road trips.

"And that's exactly why I had to make sure you had reliable transportation. Last thing we would need is to be delayed because of some twenty year old van with over a million miles on it." She looked over at her friend. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Relena?"

"Probably not." Relena said honestly. "But It's something I'll have to do eventually and I have this weird feeling that it's gonna be fun."

"That's the spirit." Duo nodded. "We're gonna tear shit up together. Two best bands in the world, I don't care what anybody says."

Relena chuckled at Duo's enthusiasm. She had to say, she agreed with that statement. She felt lucky to be a part of this. Though there was something that was beginning to bother her. It shouldn't… but it did. That's just how her heart worked.

"Um, Dorothy." Relena looked over to the platinum blonde.

"Yes, dear?"

"So… should we stop playing 'One More Hour'?" After finding out from Dorothy just what, or who, that song was about, it made her feel kind of uncomfortable. Heero may not have acted too kindly to her, but if the roles were reversed, Relena would find it incredibly difficult to continue hearing a break up song where she was the primary subject. It must've pained Heero greatly to hear her play that track.

"Why? It's becoming one of our most popular songs?" Dorothy didn't see why they should stop playing it. Even though there's no footage of them playing it live, Dorothy was well aware of the song's growing popularity in the fan-base.

"Well, If Heero chooses to do this with us then that means he'll always be around. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear it every night." Relena explained. Dorothy gave her friend a funny look.

"Look at you… Heero acts like a child when he first meets you and now you're trying to look out for him?" This surprised Dorothy. "No, we're playing it."

"Heero is just gonna have to grow up." Duo jumped in. "Sick of hearing about Sylvia. Maybe if he hears another cute blonde playing her stuff all the time, he'll forget about the one who dumped him."

Relena rolled her eyes at his comment. "Yeah, I don't know. Just feels odd playing something you know is directed at someone you respect. I'm not forgetting how he acted when we met but it still doesn't sit well with me. I know it would be tough for me if I were in his position."

"And if you were in his position, I would tell you the exact same thing we all tell Heero." Dorothy didn't need Heero's love life holding back the group. "I mean, if I were in his position I would have been sad for a day or two and then found myself at a Chippendales show."

Relena chuckled. "Yeah that does sound like you."

Hilde laughed. "I would hope you would take me with you."

"Hey!" Duo wasn't trying to hear that. He had a better idea. "If y'all want a show just let me know." He gave the blondes a wink.

"Uh no, sorry ladies, I don't share." Hilde elbowed her man.

"Oof!" Duo rubbed his side. "Babe, you just said you would want Dorothy to invite you to see a bunch of shirtless buff guys!"

"Yeah, but they're not dating my friends, dummy."

"It's okay, Hilde." Dorothy said with her tea raised. "I would pass on that offer anyway." She sipped from her cup before giving a smirk. "Now your bass player on the other hand… I don't mind seeing that in only a bow tie."

"Wow." Relena blushed with a smile as she took in some chamomile.

"Oh, don't tell me I'm the only one." Dorothy gave her female companions knowing looks.

"Hilde, don't answer that!" Duo snapped his head at her. He wasn't trying to hear his girl fawn over his bandmate.

"I'm not saying anything!" Hilde tried to hold back her giggles, getting a nice laugh out of her platinum blonde friend.

"What say you, Relena?" Dorothy wiggled her famous brows at her good friend. "It would be quite a sight, wouldn't you agree?"

Relena's face flared up again from this continued topic, but if she was being honest… "Well, I certainly don't think I would look away." Relena went for her tea, smirk plastered on her face.

"Glad we're in agreement there." Dorothy nodded.

"Ooooh, I'm telling Quatre!" Duo pointed at Dorothy, getting an eye roll in response.

"Oh, he'll be fine." Dorothy waved him off. "He's already heard me refer to Trowa and Heero as gorgeous. This stuff doesn't bother him."

Duo could only shake his head at this. "Poor Q…" he muttered.

"I wouldn't mind swooning over Heero but he's been getting on my nerves lately. Such a turn off." Dorothy looked over at Relena. "But anyway, if playing that song really bothers you, then we don't have to play it. I won't be happy about it and I don't think Heero deserves your sympathy, but I'll leave it up to you."

"Hmm." Relena knew that this should be the kind of situation where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or more accurately, the need of a specific individual. The song 'One More Hour' had become one of their most popular tracks. Many fans would want to hear it played live. They would be calling for it. She shouldn't be thinking about one person's feelings on the song. If that's what the fans wanted, then she would play it. It's not like she didn't like the song. It was fantastic! But…

'_It's her band… she can play what she wants.'_ She remembered the look he gave her before he walked out of the room. There was something about his eyes that stuck with her. He looked pained. Those blue eyes of his… they were too… striking to look that distressed.

Dorothy was right, she was a fool for thinking this much about Heero's feelings, especially since he had yet to warm up to her. However, she didn't operate that way. Hate her all you want, Relena thought, but at least everyone would know that she was well intentioned. Heero had his own pain to deal with, but she knew she didn't want to add to it.

She was leaning towards scratching that song entirely from their live performances.

Relena felt something inside of her that just wouldn't let her do it. What it was, she couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something… something...

"Oh!" Dorothy jumped. "Well look what I have here!"

Everyone turned to look at their host.

"What's up, Dotty?" Duo asked, curious to know what she saw on her phone.

Ignoring the name he used, Dorothy continued. "Duo, when were you going to tell us that you guys had finished up recording that album of yours?"

"Huh?" Duo scratched the back of his head. "How do you know that?"

"I just got a message from Quatre telling me to check my emails; it was there that I saw he sent me something called 'Zen Arcade'. Hmm… twenty-three songs?" She gave Duo a grin. "Sound about right?"

"Q just went and sent you the album? Did Heero give him the 'ok'?" This confused Duo.

"I don't know, but if this is the album then…" Dorothy's voice trailed off when she got another message from Quatre. "Wow…"

"What he say?" Hilde nodded her head at Dorothy's phone, now she needed to know what was up.

"Dorothy?" Relena saw an amused look form on her friend's fair skinned face.

"He sent me a four word message. It reads… Album of the Year." Dorothy chuckled. "Our album came out this year, does he not remember that?"

"Damn, Quatre always likes our shit but I don't know if he's ever said that." Duo whistled with a smirk. "I won't lie, I kinda felt the same way when it was all said and done. Heero really went above and beyond for this one."

"Listening party here! Duo, I'm gonna need you to set this up. We're listening to this right now!" Dorothy got up and went to get things ready.

'_So, this is what Heero has been working on…' _Relena wanted to know what this record sounded like just like everyone else. It was their first full length album since _Everything Falls Apart_ and Relena knew that _Zen Arcade_ wouldn't sound all that much like it. The smaller EP _Metal Circus _hinted at that, and this new album had to be Do You Remeber? in their newest form.

'_Okay Heero…' _Relena watched as Duo and Dorothy got everything ready. _'Let's see what you can do.'_

* * *

**AN: Hope you all have a wonderful day! Luv u :-)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Track 5: Hardly Getting Over It**

His phone had been blowing up all week since he dropped his album off at Quatre's office. The record was posted up for digital purchase and streaming services not that long after that. His closest friends heard it almost immediately that day he gave Quatre that _Zen Arcade_ labeled disc. Heero was getting showered with compliments and praise for his work on what some were calling, arguably, the greatest collection of songs ever released by the Winner-founded record label.

Other bands reached out to his band to share their thoughts on his work. He noticed rave reviews being posted from all directions. They came from your average no-name music fan, to notable and reputable music publications. The record was getting bombarded with perfect to near-perfect scores. A lot of these music writers and commentators noted how much they had shifted from being a thrashing hardcore band to an entity with an ear for melody. There was still something on the record for punk fans to chew on, but critics knew that Heero was looking beyond the genre that his band made their name in.

As one music writer put it…

'_Do You Remember? Are playing a huge role in convincing the underground that punk and melody aren't antithetical.' _

Going forward, Heero would make sure his band would continue in that direction.

His appreciation and love for punk would always remain, but there was something limiting about it that made him want to break out of that box. Some people might abandon the band in the process, Heero predicted, but he didn't care. He would create whatever he wanted and if that meant losing some fans then so be it.

Heero leaned back into the sofa in his apartment, feeling proud at what he and his band accomplished. He honestly didn't care about all of the great things being written or said about _Zen A_rcade, he was just glad the album sounded exactly like he wanted it to. It was, by far, the best thing his band had recorded up to that point he thought.

It honestly made him even more excited to start working on the follow up. There were some songs that didn't make it on the record, but that Heero knew he could rework them and save it for later. He would make sure that next time recording wouldn't take as long.

_New Day Rising _would be released a lot quicker than _Zen Arcade_.

Yeah, Heero already had a name for the next album picked out.

His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. He saw Duo's name and answered it, leaving it beside him on speaker. "Hey." he answered.

"Yo, what's up?" replied his bandmate. "At home?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" From the sound of his phone, Heero could tell that Duo was out driving somewhere.

"Nothing much, just on my way to Peacemillion. Hilde and the ladies are gonna be there so I figured I'd stop by and screw around." Heero heard him chuckle. "Wanna meet me there?"

Heero wasn't sure he wanted to go. He probably should, he thought, considering how reclusive he had been since releasing his masterwork. The past week saw him stuck at home, not doing much of anything. The record had been all he had thought about for so long, and with Sylvia's departure from his life, it made him want to dig into his work and get lost in the music. He had put so much into _Zen Arcade _that he needed some time to himself after finishing the record, which meant he just relaxed at home and pondered the future of his band or whatever other thoughts popped into his head.

And then there was the whole issue of his ex's replacement.

He hadn't seen Relena much since their initial meeting and truth be told he was still uncomfortable with the whole thing. Everyone else seemed to like her, but he still needed time. He had to see what she was made of and if she was worth Dorothy's praise, then MAYBE he would start looking at her differently. He just wasn't at that point with her yet.

"I don't know…"

"C'mon, come through." Duo said, eager to get his friend out of the house. "Time for a little victory lap, everyone wants to see the man who wrote the best thing G-Team ever released."

Heero didn't think that was true at all. There were a lot of albums they released that he loved. "You said your girl's band is going to be there right?"

"Well yeah, that's the only reason I'm going."

Heero actually didn't mind going down there just to hang out, it was just… her. He sighed. "I might just stay in."

"Really?" a disappointed Duo replied. "Is it because of that girl?" Duo thought he heard a grunt coming from the other line and shook his head. "Man, you're gonna have to get over this. It's starting to get old."

"Shut up." Heero was thinking about just hanging up on him now.

"Seriously though, it's one thing to be upset about Sylvia, it's another thing to be mad about the new girl."

"What do you know?" a bitter Heero responded.

"Shit, I know enough to point out that you're being an ass." Duo threw back at him. "She's a nice chick, you ain't gotta be so mean to her."

"Are you done?" Heero wasn't about to get into it with Duo about Relena. "I have no interest in talking to you about that damn woman."

"Yeah, whatever." Duo replied. Heero could already see the eye roll Duo was giving him from the other line. "Man, I feel sorry for that girl. She has no business doing you any favors. If I were her, I would just play that song just to mess with you."

That sounded weird. Her doing him a 'favor'? "What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying," Duo continued. "I was hanging with the girls not that long ago and Relena was talking to Dorothy about taking that song Sylvia wrote about you off their set list. She thought that if we were gonna be on the road together, that you probably didn't want to hear a break up song about you every night."

"Wait…" He let Duo's words process in his head, trying to make sure he heard his friend correctly. "She… what?"

"Yeah, she doesn't want to play 'One More Hour' because she's factoring in your feelings." Duo clarified. "That girl is wasting her kindness on you. Needless to say Dorothy didn't like the idea, but she's giving Relena the final word." Duo gave a humorless chuckle. "Imagine that, her choosing not to play a song just because she doesn't want to hurt you, someone that doesn't even like her. That girl is just way too nice."

So that song, which had become incredibly popular within that band's fanbase, would not be played because Relena didn't want to make him uncomfortable… Heero kept going through this, trying to make some sense out of it. He heard Duo continue to talk, but he was just tuning him out.

Relena was taking his feelings into consideration. She didn't want to play that song… because of him. She was going to compromise her band somewhat… for his sake. This girl, who only really knew him through his music, was taking a risk so soon after accepting the job to replace Sylvia... just to please him.

It was kind of her. She was being considerate of his emotions. Relena didn't want Heero to feel bad or uneasy. Like Duo said, she was way too nice.

And if Heero were any other guy, he would deeply appreciate her decision to ax the song from their set list.

Unfortunately, this only served to piss him off. Duo was right, her act of kindness was wasted on him. He would not be treated this way. Not by anyone, and especially not by her.

She really thought he was that weak; that he couldn't handle her playing that song. Relena thought that low of him. His face contorted into an expression of anger. He grabbed his phone and felt like he could squeeze it hard enough to shatter it in his grasp.

He changed his mind.

Heero cut off Duo's ramblings. "I'll be there."

"Huh?" Duo stopped when he heard his friend speak.

"Peacemillion… I'll be there. Just give me some time." Heero said through a clenched jaw. That girl was going to get a piece of his mind. She would know exactly what he thought of her 'kind' gesture.

* * *

Dorothy had not yet arrived, but Relena was there, hanging out with Hilde and her boyfriend at the famed Peacemillion studio once again. They had been playing to pass the time and she enjoyed their company as they jammed together, killing time as they waited for the platinum blonde to make her appearance.

She got a kick out of hearing the couple bicker with each other. Relena even inquired about how her new drummer and the braided Do You Remember? guitarist met and what drove them to become musicians. They were both interesting people and were very accommodating to her. She could definitely see herself becoming good friends with Hilde and Duo.

It would be interesting to see how things worked when they shared the road together. Hilde mentioned how they played shows with each other before, but nothing like this. It was going to be a new experience for everyone involved. She would know what being on the road is like, and how it is to share this with Heero's band.

_Heero…_

They hadn't seen each other much since meeting here for the first time, but she hoped she would get another chance to speak with him, and Duo did mention that Heero planned on showing up at Peacemillion today. She wanted to use this opportunity to talk and let him know that she came here with the best intentions and that she wasn't trying to make him forget about Sylvia or whatever problem he had with her. She wanted a chance to set the record straight. Dorothy thought it was a silly thing for her to do, and maybe she was right, but she had too much respect for Heero to just ignore the whole situation.

Also, _Zen Arcade _was one of the greatest albums she'd ever heard.

She wanted to geek out about it and who better to do that with than the person most responsible for it's creation. They were both music nerds so she hoped it would be a good way to reintroduce themselves to each other. It shouldn't matter to her that they had a good relationship, he wasn't in her band after all, but it did matter. Relena was a music fan as well as a musician and that meant she adored the art produced by Heero.

_Zen Arcade _just made her love his band even more. She was excited to talk music with him.

She looked over and saw Duo giving her a funny look. "Something wrong?" she asked, wanting a reason for his weird facial expression.

"Oh nothing!" Duo smirked. "I was just thinking about how funny you look."

"Excuse me?" Relena arched an eyebrow at that bizarre statement. Hilde also wondered what Duo meant by that.

"Don't get me wrong," Duo began his explanation. "I don't mean that as an insult."

"Then what exactly do you mean?" Relena pressed.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too." Hilde spoke from behind her drumset, not understanding what her boyfriend was getting at.

"Here, this is what I mean…" Duo lifted one of his hands and placed it over his view of Relena, only able to see her from her torso down. She stood there with her own personal guitar hanging off of her. It was a Fender Jaguar with a blue and red color scheme. "See, when I look at you like this, standing there with that guitar, my guess is that your favorite albums are… hmm… _Daydream Nation _and _The Queen is Dead_."

Relena still wasn't sure where Duo was going with this. She gave him a funny smile. "Okay…?"

"But…" Duo moved his hand, this time he covered his view of her to only see her face. "When I look at that adorable face of yours, I would say that your favorite albums are, like, _Red _or _1989,_ something funny like that." He ended his thoughts with a humorous grin.

Relena laughed after finally hearing Duo's weird comments on her appearance. "So, are you sure that's not supposed to be an insult? Because I'll let you know right now, I think all of those albums you just mentioned are all equally amazing."

Duo snickered. "Equally, huh?"

Relena nodded, unafraid to admit that she held the same amount of reverence for records by one of the worlds biggest pop stars as she did for albums by the supremely influential underground artists that inspired her to do what she was doing now. "Yup, that's right."

"I might argue against that, but to each their own." Duo shrugged as he put his guitar down to stand over by his lady. "At least you're honest."

"Oh don't try and act like some music snob." Hilde rolled her eyes before looking at her new bandmate. "Relena, you wouldn't believe how many times I've caught him singing 'I Knew You Were Trouble' in the shower."

"Really?" Relena's eyes widened, not believing what Hilde had just told her about her boyfriend. " Well now…" a huge smirk forming as she eyed the braided guitarist.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Duo gave his girlfriend a dismayed look, feeling betrayed by her. "Babe, why're you exposing me!?"

Hilde simply shrugged. "What? It's true."

"Hilde!"

Relena laughed at the embarrassed musician. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. I wouldn't want anyone to question your punk cred." she winked at him.

"Ughhh… damn it, Hil." Duo's shoulders slumped for a second before he straightened himself back up. "Oh well, punk is dead anyway. We're just late to a party that ended a decade or so before we were even born."

"I guess that's true." Relena agreed. "Well in that case, maybe you can cover one of her songs at your next show, or maybe while we're out on the road together. Think Heero would go for it?"

Duo chuckled at the thought of asking Heero such a thing. "I wouldn't hear his answer because I'd be on the floor snoozin' after he lands a right hook on me for even asking him."

Another laugh escaped Relena. Now she began to wonder what opinion Heero had on Duo's guilty pleasure. She was about to say something when a fourth voice cut through.

"Hey."

They all turned to see the aforementioned man standing by the door, shoulder leaning on the entryway. His eyes focused on the lone female guitar player.

"How long have you been there?" Duo hoped he wasn't present the entire time, not ready to fess up to his hidden appreciation of bubble gum pop music.

Heero ignored him, eyes still trained on Relena. She noticed his gaze was fixated on her and had no idea what to think of it. Was he mad at her? He kind of looked it.

"I need to talk to you." Heero addressed her.

Relena looked around, making sure he was talking to her. This was a little too random. "You're talking to me right?"

Heero rolled his eyes and spun around, readying himself to leave the studio. "C'mon." He said no more and walked off.

Relena looked to the other two and they could only shrug, neither of them having a clue. She sighed and removed her guitar, heading out to follow him. She saw him leaving the building. Her feet started moving quicker to catch up. Outside, she saw Heero turn the corner to enter an alleyway. _Strange place to talk_, Relena thought. Why he wanted to chat with her in private, she had no idea. Well, she wanted to talk to him, too, so maybe this was a good thing for both of them.

She found him leaning his back against the wall of bricks that made up Peacemillion. His arms were crossed and she saw that Heero still had that displeased look to him. Hopefully that wasn't a bad sign.

"Okay, so… what did you wa-" Before she could even get the rest of her question out, Heero cut in.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" His eyes narrowed and focused intensely on the woman standing before him.

"Uh, what?" She didn't see that coming.

"You really think I'm weak, do you?" His tone grew hostile and Relena was taken completely off guard.

"What're you talk-"

"Let me tell you right now, I don't need your damn sympathy." Heero seethed. "You can get out of here with that bullshit."

Relena's head was shaking. What was going on? She couldn't process any of this. "Heero, I have no idea what you-"

Again, he cut her off, not allowing her a chance to finish her sentence. "Stop it, you know what you did. Don't patronize me. You're gonna play that goddamn song. I don't need your fake pity, you got that?"

"Play that song…?" Relena repeated his words to herself before something finally started to make sense. She guessed someone must've told him, probably Duo, about her plan to drop 'One More Hour' from their upcoming live performances with his band. Now it started to click. "Look, Heero I-"

"Enough with the nice girl routine." Heero started once again, pointing a finger down at her. "I know this is fake. You think I'm too weak to handle listening to a single stupid song and now you want to taunt me by treating me like some sort of wounded animal. You can go to hell, Relena." His words dripped with venom and Relena's head was spinning. She guessed now she wouldn't get that conversation with him that she wanted.

"I… I… just wanted to…"

"And just so you know, I don't view you as a worthy successor at all." Heero continued to rage. "I don't give a shit what Dorothy says, I'll never view you as a legitimate member of that band."

Those words stung, they hurt coming from him. She bit her lip and looked down at the sneakers that adorned her feet.

"You'll never be Sylvia, you'll never be half as good as her. I'm letting you know right now, there's nothing you can do to make me change my mind. As far as I'm concerned, you're wasting whatever talents you have here. But since Dorothy wants you around, the only thing I can tell you is don't screw up Sylvia's songs. You're already a lesser performer, okay." Relena swallowed down a lump as he said that. He continued to debase her. "So try your best to keep from devaluing her work, you hear me? Huh?" He saw her looking down. She couldn't even look him in the eye. How pathetic, he thought. "Do you even have anything to say?"

Moments of silence passed and Heero grunted, disgusted by her. "Fine, then I'll just go. Have a good da-" Before he could turn on his heel and leave, her voice finally broke through.

"You know… I was really excited to talk to you today." Heero looked back down at her. She still had her eyes to the ground.

"What?"

"Your album… it's honestly one of the greatest things I've heard in a long time." Her voice was low and meek. "And… I was hoping that I could talk to you about it because… I loved it so much." It was true, Relena hadn't stopped listening to _Zen Arcade _ since she first heard it. It was all she was listening to. Heero had created such a beautiful record and she wanted to do nothing but fangirl all over it, but now...

"Relena?" Was this more of her nice girl facade coming through? It didn't feel like it was fake, but he couldn't be sure.

"But.." Relena continued. "Considering how much you really seem to hate me, it doesn't look like I'm going to get the opportunity to pick your brain about it."

"It's not about me hating you, it's ju-" Now it was time for Relena to cut him off.

"After everything you just said, you expect me to think you don't hate me?" Relena looked up to give him a look that featured a mixture of confusion and a hint of sadness. "What I was trying to do, by removing that song, was to show how much I respect you; that I cared about your feelings because I know you're still not over it."

Heero scoffed at her. "I am getting over it, in my own way. Don't act li-"

"Oh please." Relena shook her head in disbelief, not buying it at all. "If that were the case, you wouldn't have brought me out here just to belittle me and make me feel like shit, which, you know, mission accomplished. You did it, it worked."

Heero thought he heard her voice crack, as if she were on the brink of sobbing in front of him. This is what he wanted, right? He didn't care if he hurt her feelings. Wasn't she correct? Then why didn't he feel good about this? Heero questioned himself now. "That… wasn't the plan, Relena."

"Bullshit." She said with a chuckle completely devoid of humor. "But you know, some of this is on me, too. Dorothy told me not to care about how it would make you feel. I should've listened so that we could've avoided all of this. But no, the fangirl in me just wanted you to avoid whatever pain that song might have caused you. I listened to my heart instead of my brain and well, shame on m-me."

"Uh, Relena?" Heero could hear it in her voice and see it on her face. The woman was on the verge of tears and now that this blew up on him he realized that maybe he actually didn't want this.

"I don't even know why I'm letting this get to me. You're not even in my band and after all of the horrible things you said, I should be able to brush it off but… damn it, why does it hurt?" She almost growled in frustration. Was it just because she was a fan of his? It had to be, right? Now she sounded unsure with herself it greatly aggravated the young female musician. She raised a hand to cover her face with her fingers pressing on her eyes, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. She let a few sobs escape and Heero winced at the sound, regret starting to takeover.

"Hey, Relena…" Heero reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder but she quickly slapped it away.

"Don't touch me!" The girl spun on her heels and quickly took off.

"Fuck…" Heero muttered through a clenched jaw. He was alone in the alleyway now, shaking his head. Not like he needed himself to confirm it, but this backfired big time. He wasn't even sure what the point of this was anymore. He wanted to be straight up with her, to let her know he didn't care for her decision, but did he want to make her cry?

That he wasn't so sure of.

But much like Relena wondered why she cared about his feelings, he began to wonder why he cared about hers. It's not like it bothered him if she hated him, right? Heero wondered if he was trying to convince himself. "What the hell." Things became more complicated than what he predicted.

He moved out of the alleyway and saw Relena brush past Dorothy, who had just arrived with Quatre, to re-enter Peacemillion.

"Relena!" Dorothy called out but to no avail. She noticed her friend had her face covered and it appeared as if she were crying, or beginning to cry. She definitely heard some whimpering, of that she was certain. "What in the world…?" She looked back at Quatre who could only shrug.

The platinum blonde looked over to find Heero standing there. Dorothy looked at him as he wore a disgruntled look and back at the door to Peacemillion. She did that a couple more times before she figured it out. She lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and took a deep breath before giving Heero a nasty look. "I'll deal with you later." She calmly spoke before hurrying into the building to chase after her friend.

Heero sighed before looking towards Quatre who gave him a look of disappointment. "I don't think that's what giving her a shot looks like, Heero."

Heero grunted, pissed off at the whole situation. He needed to get out of here. Turning away, he began walking down the street. He went over everything that had just occurred and didn't feel good about any of it. Why did he care if she cried or not? Did he come off as an asshole? Yeah, but so what? Heero reasoned.

Her voice cracking ran back through his head and his eyes narrowed as he flinched at the memory of the sound.

He needed to regroup and figure out just why he was leaving the situation with such a hollow feeling inside.

* * *

**AN:**** The line about Heero's band at the beginning of the chapter was taken from something that a music writer named Michael Azerrad had originally written about ****Hüsker Dü way back in the day. **

**Wanted that to be noted just in case. I kinda reworked it, too. **

**Once again, I love you all and have a wonderful day!**

**Hüsker Dü - "Hardly Getting Over It"**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:**** Don't smoke, kids! It's bad for you!**

**Track 6: One Step At a Time**

Sprawled out on his bed, Heero gave his ceiling the same frustrated look he had worn since leaving the scene at Peacemillion a few hours ago. Actually, his mood had been thrown off ever since Duo mentioned Relena's plan for the upcoming tour. He thought tearing into her would make him feel better, but it had only served to create confusion and annoy him to no end.

After arriving back home, he went straight for his record player, wanting to drown out these irritating feelings through the harshest noises he could find. Flipping from one album to another, he turned his sound system as high as he could, risking complaints from the other tenants and possibly a call from his landlord. He didn't catch any shit from anyone so maybe everybody was out, but it wasn't like he cared either way. Regardless, it didn't work and his mind still drifted off to what took place earlier.

No matter how high the volume was, it wasn't loud enough to keep away the memory of Relena Peacecraft sobbing in front of him. He eventually gave up on the music and turned off his stereo. He tried picking up his guitar, thinking that perhaps he could work on some unfinished songs he had leftover from the _Zen Arcade _sessions.

Still, his recent meeting with Relena continued to override whatever distraction he came up with. He accomplished nothing and the songs remained incomplete, which bothered him tremendously because there was this one riff he was tooling around with that he liked a lot. He had even given it a working title, too.

'Heaven Hill', that's what he called it.

Unfortunately, he didn't get far in the creative process. Heero didn't think this was fair. His album was just released not too long ago and here she was, crushing his enjoyment. He couldn't celebrate his achievement; _Zen Arcade_ was, without a doubt, the greatest thing he had ever created. He should be able to sit back in his own apartment and revel in his proudest moment, but no, she wouldn't even allow him that. Instead, he was laid out on his bed, pissed off with her and himself. His day was ruined and now he was here rotting away for the rest of the night. It just wasn't fair.

"_You know… I was really excited to talk to you today."_

Her voice, he hated it. Why did it continue to replay in his head?

"_Your album… it's honestly one of the greatest things I've heard in a long time." _

She told him she loved his record, and all he did was chew her out. He was struggling internally, trying to figure out if what he did was the right thing. No matter what angle he viewed it from, everything came back inconclusive. He detested being this uncertain.

"Relena." He spitefully growled out her name.

Before he could continue cursing her, he heard a loud knocking. He sat up, wondering who the hell was at his door. The knocking persisted and Heero got up from his bed, shuffling to the source of the noise. He stared at the door for a moment, hearing more bothersome knocking before speaking. "Who is it?" he asked loudly.

"It's your mother, Heero, let me in. I'm coming over for dinner." the muffled voice responded.

That definitely was NOT Aoi. "You're not my mother, Dorothy!" He twisted the knob and cracked the door open, revealing the aforementioned woman.

"No, I'm not, but I probably have a better relationship with you than she does." She replied with a devilish grin.

Heero glowered at her insensitive remarks. "What do you want?"

"You know exactly why I'm here, now let me in." she sternly responded.

"How'd you even get upstairs?" he further questioned, still not allowing her access to his apartment.

"Your landlord and I arrived at the exact same time."

"And he let you in?" Heero arched an eyebrow.

"He has a crush on me." Dorothy nonchalantly shrugged. He should hold back on the rent money just for that, an annoyed Heero thought. "Now hurry and open the door, these hallways are freezing."

He'd have to run into her sooner or later, a defeated Heero sighed, he might as well get it over with. He opened up and Dorothy slithered her way in. Heero walked off, heading towards the direction of his couch, an unhappy expression resting on his face. Dorothy went straight for his refrigerator, grabbing for a bottle of water.

"Who said you can go through my fridge?" He looked back at her.

"You owe me." she twisted open the cap and took a swig.

"Don't you owe me?" Heero shot back, reminding her of when he complied and allowed Relena to use his Flying V.

"True, but you killed that deal with your actions today." Her response pulled a disgruntled grunt out of Heero. "What's your problem, seriously?" she placed her bottle on his kitchen counter, folding her arms in front of her. "You pathetically carry a torch for a woman who ditched you and then act like a complete asshole to the girl who's just trying to live out her dream."

"She took Sylvia's sp-"

"Heero!" she loudly sliced through his predictable response. "Who cares!? For the last time, It's not your band!" Dorothy was astounded that she even had to go through this with him again. "Sylvia is gone! She's out! She quit! She dumped you and left! Get over it already!"

As he angrily glared at her, Heero was regretting his choice to let Dorothy into his apartment. Dorothy could feel the heat radiating off of his stare, but was completely unfazed. "I mean, honestly, what was she doing to you in bed that has you acting like this?"

"Something you probably couldn't do." Heero threw back at her, not caring how crass he sounded.

"Oh?" Dorothy had to keep from bursting out laughing at Heero's ridiculous comeback. "Is that a challenge? I do have some time tonight…" Dorothy winked as she started removing her coat.

Heero rolled his eyes, not wanting to play Dorothy's games. "Can you leave, please?"

"What?" she produced a highly amused smirk. "Afraid I'll find out you're a minute man?"

Heero could only sigh at the blonde. "Quatre is going to be pretty upset when he finds out you joke around like this."

"Ugh," a deflated Dorothy slumped her shoulders. "Why do all of you bring him up as if it's going to change my behavior?" She wanted to say something as she saw Heero give her a knowing look, but decided against it and took another sip of her water. "Besides, it's not like he doesn't know, and for your information, even if you were the last person on earth, I wouldn't and not just for the obvious reasons. After today, you are easily the least attractive person in the world to me right now."

"Where was I before today?" Heero muttered the question with another eye roll.

"Do you really want to know?" The playfulness in her tone was hard to miss.

"Not really."

"Third." she simply stated.

"Hn." Heero just shrugged, he truly didn't care to know this.

"I had Trowa ahead of you, just so you know." She told him, pointing the top of her water bottle at his direction.

"So that means Quatre was numb-"

"Look, we're getting away from the reason I came here." She stopped him from continuing and walked over to stand before the sitting Heero Yuy. "Bottom line, you're an asshole and you're going to apologize to my friend and bandmate."

Heero waved her off, refusing to make eye contact with her. "Not interested."

"Get interested." Dorothy was so put off by the Heero that she was looking at. Before the Sylvia break up, he was rational and reasonable; nothing like the petulant child he'd regressed into today. "I refuse to be a part of this tour if it means you two are just going to be awkward around each other the entire time. You guys need to patch things up before any of us hit the road. I don't have the energy to waste on keeping you two from fighting."

Heero raked a hand through his tousled hair. All day… it's been nothing but aggravations all day, and as much as he hated to admit it, Dorothy was right. The last thing he wanted on this tour was to be walking on eggshells around Relena, and he was sure she probably didn't want the same thing.

Why he even cared about her feelings, he couldn't say, and that made his jaw clench. Another vision of her sobbing again flashed in his memory and he tried to shake away the image of the saddened honey blonde from earlier. Seeing her like that only complicated matters and pissed him off at the same time. "Fine, I'll apologize." he growled.

"You better mean it, too." Dorothy looked down at him with a certain amount of skepticism.

He matched her stare with one of his own. "I said I'd do it, okay? What more do you want?"

Dorothy released a heavy sigh. "I guess I have no choice but to take you at your word. We'll be at Barge tomorrow night to grab a drink, go see her then."

"Hn." What better place then Barge, right? That would be the first venue they play on the upcoming tour, and it was also the place where he met _her_ for the first time. Why do women always make things so complicated for him?

Maybe Wufei was right…

* * *

_A twenty-one year old Heero Yuy stood outside Club Barge. There were others loitering around but he kept to himself, he just leaned his back on the building and puffed away at the cigarette in his mouth. This would be the last time he would ever smoke these horrible things. It was a bad habit he picked up in high school when he hung out with other future high school dropouts. He never liked smoking, but it was something to do in social settings and whenever he was by himself. It wasn't the greatest reason to smoke, but that's where it came from._

_At least this would be the last one. He took another drag and pulled it out of his mouth, twiddling it between his fingers. _

"_Hey, you have a light?" a feminine voice called out to him. He looked to his right and saw a girl with blonde hair. She, too, had a cigarette in her possession as she was obviously looking to light it up. _

_Heero just shook his head at her. _

"_No?" she looked at him curiously. "Then how did you light that one up?"_

_He took another drag of the burning stick, blowing some smoke out his mouth and nostrils. "Threw it away after lighting this up."_

"_Why'd you do that?" the girl tilted her head at him. _

_Heero didn't really want to explain himself, but figured he might as well humor her since she wasn't getting sparked by him. "I'm quitting after this one."_

"_Oh," she nodded in understanding. "Me too, actually." She leaned beside Heero on Barge's wall. "Wanted to make this my last one." She sighed, looking back up at him. She studied his features, quickly recognizing how good looking he was. She wondered if he was here alone. She was about to ask him when she got an idea. "Hey, can you lean down for a second?"_

_Heero raised an eyebrow at the girl standing beside him, unsure of what she was up to. She graced him with a smile that he would admit made her look pretty. She placed the cigarette in her mouth and motioned him to lean down. Heero realized what she was doing now and shrugged, complying with her request. Leaning his head down, the girl moved to touch the tip of her stick to his, and she inhaled, lighting up her cigarette. They matched looks for a second before pulling away, the girl giving him a wink as they did so. _

_She pulled it out of her mouth after taking her first puff. "Thanks." Heero just nodded in return. "The names Sylvia by the way, yours?"_

"_Heero…" He blew out a large cloud, watching it float and disappear into the air. _

"_Nice to meet you, Heero." She leaned back on the wall. "Here alone?"_

"_Hn." Heero nodded in confirmation. _

"_Here for the show?" _

_Heero came to Barge to just hang out and maybe see who was playing. He honestly didn't care who was on stage. "I didn't even know who was playing till I got here. Just came to relax."_

"_Ah, okay." Sylvia blew her own smoke cloud. "Some guy took me out tonight."_

_Heero side-glanced at her. She wasn't here alone but she was out here with him? And apparently she was on a date, too? "Why are you here then?" _

"_Eh, it just wasn't working out." Sylvia sighed, eyes looking up at the night sky. "Nice guy, but not my type, so I kinda ditched him."_

"_Hn." Heero wasn't sure what to make of that._

"_And besides, the guy playing on stage kinda sucks." Sylvia chuckled. _

"_Think so?" Heero asked her, thinking the same thing of the one man performer who was currently Barge's main event. _

"_Yeah, you've seen one bearded guy play folk music, you've seen them all." Sylvia cynically explained. "His guitar sounds like shit, too. Pretty sure I play better than him"_

"_You play?" That got Heero's attention. _

"_I asked my parents to give me lessons a long time ago." Sylvia revealed to him. "Been playing since I was twelve."_

"_Hm, are you any good?"_

"_I think I'm pretty good." She gave Heero a smirk. "Better than that guy on stage, at least."_

_She was a confident one, he'd give her that. It made him curious to know exactly what her guitar style sounded like. _

"_Do you play anything?" She questioned him._

"_Guitar." he flatly responded. _

"_Oh, you too, huh?" Sylvia's eyes widened, surprised to find that she was speaking to another six-string player. "Are you any good?"_

_He took another drag. "I'm okay, I guess."_

"_When did you start playing?" Sylvia pressed on, wanting to know more about the hot guy who also played the same instrument as her. _

"_When I was sixteen." Heero responded. _

"_Did you take lessons?"_

"_No." He shook his head, he didn't learn the same way she did. _

"_So how did you learn?" Sylvia continued to ask._

"_Taught myself." Heero replied truthfully. "I just learned by ear. I couldn't read music to save my life, I just knew what I wanted my guitar to sound like." It was his discovery of punk that made Heero learn it himself. He wasn't getting any help from his parents when it came to the guitar, so he knew what he had to do. It helped that his friend Duo also learned like he did. They were able to bounce off each other and create whatever racket they wanted. _

"_Impressive, like a true punk rocker." Sylvia giggled after taking another hit._

"_That was the idea." Heero figured learning himself fit him perfectly. The albums he was listening to at that time gave him the inspiration to simply pick up and play, regardless of technical ability._

"_Did your parents help you at all?" She heard Heero snort at her question and she looked to find him shaking his head. "Sounds like there's a story there." _

"_It's nothing."_

"_Sure as hell doesn't sound like nothing." Sylvia didn't buy it. "Not close with your parents, are you?"_

"_It's complicated." Heero didn't care to get into his relationship with Aoi and Odin. _

"_Those kinds of situations usually are." Sylvia concurred. "Ever thought about starting a band? You seem to be a big music guy, much like myself."_

_Heero gave her a quick look before looking out towards the city streets. "One day I will. When I find the right people, I'll make my own punk band."_

"_Still a hardcore kid, I see." Heero gave a nod. _

"_And you?" Heero asked her the same thing. "Want to be in a band?"_

"_Hm…" Sylvia gave the question a little more thought than Heero did. "Maybe if I meet the right people, but to be honest, I'm not that interested in being in a band right now. That could change, though, so who the hell knows." She took one last drag before tossing the butt on the ground, stomping it out. "And with that, no more." She observed as Heero copied her. "So, that's it? No more cancer sticks?" Sylvia snickered._

"_No more cancer sticks…" Heero dryly repeated. _

"_Looks like we'll have to find a new vice." Sylvia jokingly suggested. Heero jammed his hands into his pockets and turned to look down at her, not knowing what to do next with the blonde. "Hey, let's grab a drink, I'll buy the first round."_

_She might have to buy the second and third rounds, too, because it wasn't like he had much money on him. "Are you sure? I don't have a lot of cash on me. Plus, there's that guy you came with; I'm not interested in getting into a fight tonight." he told her honestly. _

"_That's fine, I'm pretty sure he left already after realizing I abandoned him. He hasn't texted me or anything but I'm sure he got the hint." She easily explained away. "As far as the drinks go, you're really cute, so you can get away with not paying tonight." Sylvia grinned at the handsome young man named Heero. He regarded her with a funny look. That was a weird way of putting it._

"_Are you saying there's going to be another night?" Heero questioned the curly haired girl named Sylvia. _

"_Here's hoping." came her simple response. They both smirked at each other and entered club._

* * *

**AN****: Hope you enjoy this one, y'all. **

**'Heaven Hill' is part of a ****Hüsker Dü song title. If you know the full song name, then you probably know where I'll be going with that. **

**Using another gimmick for this particular story as you can probably tell. Just makes sense, doesn't it?**

**Hüsker Dü - "One Step At a Time" **


	7. Chapter 7

**Track 7: Kill Yr. Idols**

Sitting by the side of a round glass table, Heero's eyes looked out towards the small backyard he had seen before. He never made it a habit to come here, but decided to stop by and give a heads up on his impending departure. The tour would begin in less than a couple of weeks and he made sure to be prepared for the long days on the road. It wasn't his first rodeo, nor would it be his last, so Heero was pretty much all set to go. As a matter of fact, Heero had been feeling anxious waiting for the night of the first show. They hadn't played since they stopped touring for _Metal Circus_ and ever since the whole thing with Sylvia happened, Heero just crunched harder on making_ Zen Arcade _the all-important musical document it ended up becoming.

Now, he needed to take it on the road. He wanted this tour for his own sake. In a way, this would be his victory lap. More than before, being on the road meant something to him, and he constantly felt his chest swell in anticipation for that first night at Barge.

He would be there later tonight, although it wasn't because he planned on hitting the stage with his three bandmates. No, he had to meet up with someone from another band. The face of a certain golden haired woman flashed and that bothersome feeling of agitation returned to him. He really didn't want to do this; Heero knew that he couldn't find it in him to apologize the right way. The plan was to go in there and make it short and then head for the exit. Heero's thinking was that Relena should be glad that Dorothy was her friend, because if it wasn't for the respect he had for the platinum blonde, he wouldn't be going to see her in the first place.

It was a shame, he thought, because Relena clearly had playing ability, but she chose the wrong band to join. Had things been different, then maybe he wouldn't look at her so differently. He could look at her for what she seemed to be: Talented, kind and beautiful.

Heero began nodding to himself before suddenly stopping. Wait, why did he feel the need to add that last part in? Yeah, she was attractive, sure, but… that shouldn't matter enough to him to even bring it up. He shook it off, maybe he really did need to get back on the road, otherwise he would just go crazy getting lost in his head and thinking stupid thoughts like that.

Maybe it was his current setting that was screwing with him.

He heard the sliding door behind him open, unveiling an older woman with similarly colored hair like Heero's. It fell a few inches past her shoulders and the woman's face exposed her obvious Asian features, looking like a more grown, female version of him. She still held a youthful enough appearance despite her being middle age, and that made the similarities between them even more apparent.

Which made sense, considering this woman was his mother.

Aoi Clark placed two glasses of water on the table. Heero grabbed one and began swirling it in his grasp, just watching the liquid spin. Aoi took her seat, her eyes scanning over her son.

"When are you leaving again?" She asked, swallowing some water before putting it down, crossing her arms in front of her.

"In a couple weeks." Heero continued playing with his glass and he heard his mother respond with a hum. Silence fell over them, bugging the two. It was always a fight to keep things from becoming awkward. Aoi kept an eye on her son as the two continued on with this unpleasant quiet that befell them. He looked so much like his father, and like herself, too, if she was being honest. Though she could only think of her ex-husband when she looked at Heero. After all, he was succeeding where Odin had failed. Her son's success may have been modest, but she knew he had carved out his own place in the music world.

Where Odin couldn't handle being a failed musician, Heero seemingly never cared. She couldn't say she understood her son's scene, she never understood his music to begin with, but it was obvious that he never thought about reaching some unattainable level of stardom. Heero seemed content to be where he was in his chosen profession, Aoi noted. That much, she could respect.

Another minute passed before Aoi decided to break the silence. "How long will you be gone for this time?"

Heero sipped his water, eyes still looking out to the yard. "About two and a half months." Putting the glass down, he set his elbow on the table, resting his head on his fist. Heero's face held a bored expression, and the tone of his voice matched. Everytime he came here, he regretted it. He always felt weird when it came to his family.

Well, at least he wasn't at Odin's place, because things would have been much worse.

"Oh, okay." Aoi sighed, unsure where to go next. A few seconds of thinking went by, and she chose to bring up the only other thing she knew about Heero that wasn't music related. "Have you heard from Sylvia?" Aoi could see him bristle at the question. She had only seen him once since their relationship unexpectedly dissolved. He didn't go into detail about what happened, but only that they weren't together anymore.

She had met the girl named Sylvia on several occasions throughout the years, and Aoi was never quite sure what to think of the girl. Overall, Aoi thought she was fine, but something about Sylvia always made her feel a little off. There was a pugnacious undertone coming from her whenever they spoke. Maybe she was just being that way on Heero's behalf, Aoi pondered, as she was sure her son let her know about all of his family issues.

"No, I haven't." his voice made it clear he was not happy answering that question.

"Did you ever try asking her family about her?"

"I did." Again, his voice translated his feelings on the topic. Of course he checked with her family. No one, not even her grandfather whom she was very close with had any idea what she was up to. Only that she called every now and then to let them know she was fine.

Heero had a suspicion that Sylvia had told them not to say anything to him. He couldn't prove it, but that was his belief.

"And?" Aoi pressed.

"Nothing, so stop asking." Heero replied gruffly. Aoi shrugged, not bothering to get upset with her son.

"You know, I don't like the idea of you being single." his mother commented. "I think you should find someone and try and settle down again."

"The time for motherly advice has long since passed, Aoi." That wasn't what Heero wanted to hear, especially from his mom.

"Would you stop calling me Aoi?" the woman sighed.

"Is that not your name?" Heero responded sarcastically.

"Heero, stop." she admonished, her son still refusing to look at her. "Can't you call me mom or mother like a normal son?"

"You have to earn that." Heero muttered, not catching the dirty look his mother threw at him. As much as she detested how her son treated her, Aoi guessed she couldn't blame him for feeling that way.

After divorcing Odin when her son was about eleven years old, Heero only saw her on the weekend; she watched him grow and become music obsessed and she greatly disliked that about him. He was becoming too much like his father for Aoi's liking and Heero could sense that. It kept Aoi from being the mother she should have been to him. And because of her resentment towards Heero, their relationship became incredibly strained and here they are now, trying to find a way to remain cordial with each other.

It was another reason why she wanted him in a relationship again. At least when Sylvia was around, he would try to act normal around her. She didn't care if it was fake, at least she could pretend that she wasn't in a cold war with her own flesh and blood.

"Heero," Aoi tried again, calling for his attention. "are you ever happy?"

He raised his glass over his mouth, blocking a grin that was trying to break out on his face. Aoi took note and raised a curious eyebrow. "You don't understand..." he spoke.

"Understand what?"

Heero threw down some more water before completing his thought. "Why my music is so good." Aoi couldn't quite tell what he was getting at with that statement. Heero finally turned to look at her. "It's because I'm never happy."

As sad as that was to hear, looking into those fierce Prussian eyes of his, she could tell he meant what he said. This was partly her doing. Other than her, there was only one other person to blame for this, and he wasn't here right now. "That sounds like a terrible way to live."

Heero nodded, holding back on what would be an inappropriate chuckle. "It's not all that bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Because of you guys, I at least got a couple songs out of it." Heero returned his vision to the rest of the yard. Aoi just blinked, eyes still trying to read her son. "You should listen to one of them." Heero added.

That was an odd suggestion, considering how little she actually bothered to know about his creations, which she knew contributed to his bitterness towards her. Maybe, after all this time, she should get familiar with Heero's work. "What are one of these songs called?"

Once more, Heero tried to hide a look of amusement. "Well, one of them is titled 'Broken Home, Broken Heart'. Oh, thanks for the inspiration, by the way."

He didn't bother to look at the frown that Aoi gave him.

* * *

"So, like, what's your favorite album of all time?" Relena questioned as she sipped down some of the cherry flavored vodka she ordered.

"I'm shocked you don't know that already." Dorothy gave her friend an exasperated look. The pair sat at the bar, people moving all around them. They chose a fairly busy night to patronize Club Barge. Relena had been there before with Dorothy, and she saw first hand how many regulars and workers loved her friend with the quirky eyebrows. This was a big Jezebels place, and Relena had to help make sure it remained that way.

"I don't think you've ever told me." Relena replied. She had a feeling she knew what it was, but wanted Dorothy to say it.

"Strange," Dorothy tapped her glass filled with merlot on her chin. "I could've sworn I told you before… or maybe it was Sylvia."

Relena shrugged. "I don't recall you ever telling me." It could be that Relena just forgot, she reasoned, but she usually remembered these kinds of things.

"Hm. Okay, then I guess I'll just tell you." Dorothy took in some wine before giving her answer. "It's _Chelsea Girl_."

"_Chelsea Girl_?" Relena gave her an almost skeptical look.

"_Chelsea Girl_." Dorothy nodded, confirming it again. Dorothy didn't care for the look her friend was giving her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

'_I was right…'_ Relena said internally. "_Chelsea Girl… _that choice is almost too on-brand for you." She sipped from her glass again, furrowing her brows at her bandmate.

"Excuse me?" Dorothy gave an offended look. "Is that your way of calling me predictable?"

"Kinda." Relena chuckled. "It's just…" She reached for her phone where she pulled up the album's artwork. "When I look at the cover for this record, I feel like it just screams Dorothy Catalonia."

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "What can I say, I feel a sort of kinship with that woman, even if she's dead. Plus, the music is beautiful."

"I don't disagree, but again…" Relena gave the _Chelsea Girl _cover another look, holding back a snicker. "I look at this and I get the feeling that you have a selfie in your phone somewhere that looks just like this cover."

Dorothy immediately grabbed her glass, trying to hide a sheepish grin from Relena's vision. Unfortunately, Relena caught this and her eyes widened.

"Dorothy, no!" Relena gasped. "Oh my god, you really are predictable! Let me see!" Relena tried to reach for Dorothy's phone on the bar counter, but her friend was just too quick and snatched it away. "C'mon, let me see it! I bet you look cute." Relena said through laughs.

"There's nothing for you to see!" Dorothy's cheeks began to mimic to color of her wine.

"Don't lie." Relena continued to tease. It wasn't everyday that she was the one who caused Dorothy to blush. "Oh Dorothy, will 'The Fairest of the Seasons' be on the setlist now?"

"Neither of us could do it justice!" Dorothy huffed.

Relena chuckled, more flavored alcohol made its way down her throat. "Well, now this puts all those arguments you would have with people back at school about _The Marble Index _into context."

"It's a misunderstood classic and one day people will treat it as such, if they aren't doing so already." Dorothy firmly stated. Relena allowed another chuckle to escape, and oh how Dorothy hated being the one getting laughed at. "That album predicted goth music, so you should be grateful."

"Wait, I was never a goth kid." Relena protested, not remembering a single time in her life where black dominated her wardrobe.

"Perhaps, but I still remember what your favorite song is." Dorothy drank her wine, looking out into the crowd, hoping to see Heero's sorry ass enter the building.

"Well, sure, I guess there's that." Relena conceded. She would never call herself a goth, but she liked the music, and surprisingly her favorite song of all time was…

"Oh, there's Treize!" Dorothy suddenly shouted, referring to the club's owner. "I'm gonna go speak to him for a second, I'll be back." Relena watched as Dorothy bounced away. She sighed and went back to working on her drink, eyes studying the shelves filled with bottles behind the counter.

In a couple weeks, she would be here again, but it wouldn't be just for drinks. The currently empty stage would be filled her band's gear, and of course the three of them. She would be spending a lot more time rehearsing with Dorothy and Hilde, getting better acquainted with the three albums the two of them already recorded. Dorothy told her not to get too crazy with knowing every single song in their discography, as this was essentially a tour that was promoting their latest release, but Relena still felt like she owed it to them to know her own band inside out.

And from there, she could add to it with her own stuff. She planned on working on some new material with them, too. Relena desperately wanted to put her stamp on this band, not wanting to be looked upon simply as Sylvia Noventa's replacement. She wanted to smash the skeptics, anybody who doubted her ability to own the stage and the songwriting. Relena was determined to show everyone that the band would be okay, and that their future would see them produce more mind blowing music. They would all see, she was certain of that.

Even that asshole, Heero Yuy.

Just mentioning his name caused her to automatically swallow down more of her drink. While he did make her cry yesterday, she did her best to hold back, not wanting to release too many tears. She fought like hell to keep from looking like a sobbing mess. After entering Peacemillion again, she headed straight for the bathroom, she recovered herself and quickly arrived at the realization that Heero would just never like her.

She would have to get comfortable with that fact. If she was being honest, the respect she had for him was still there. Relena was able to separate the art from the artist, because aside from being a brilliant musician, he was terrible human. Now that may sound harsh, Relena would admit, but what else could she think? Aside from some brief moments from their first meeting, he was nothing but terrible to her. What other opinion was she supposed to have of him?

He was an amazing songwriter, he proved that even more on _Zen Arcade_, but that can only go so far. And any sympathy she felt for him that involved his personal life, specifically involving her predecessor, went out the damn window. The whole Sylvia thing just made him look worse. At first, she felt bad for Heero's situation, but now seeing just how bad he was at getting over it… pathetic didn't even seem strong enough to explain it. It was just downright sad.

"Ugh, I'm spending way too much time on him…" Relena groaned. She looked around, wondering if her bandmate was on her way back. She didn't want to spend too much time alone, Dorothy already had to fight off some guys who tried to hit on both of them. They must've not known who they were, specifically the platinum blonde.

Her eyes continued to scan the crowd. She picked up on someone making their way towards her, but it wasn't Dorothy... _'Oh no…' _Relena's face fell when a memorable head of untamed, brown hair combined with a fiery, Prussian glare began making his way through the crowd. Yeah, she could tell he was heading for her direction. "Dorothy, where the hell are you?" she mumbled to herself, whipping her head around as she attempted to scope out her friend who was nowhere to be found. She decided since there was no sign of her returning, she had to take matters into her own hands and just take off somewhere. To where she would go, she didn't know, but she had to escape.

Unfortunately, she took one second too long to make her decision. Heero was a lot quicker than she thought, it was like she blinked and he just appeared. She watched him move with cautious eyes, unaware of his intentions or his reasons for being here tonight. She studied his movements, noticing that he hadn't even taken a look at her yet. Relena made sure to be on her guard, because from here on out she would refuse to take any of his shit.

He leaned over the counter with his arms in front of him, taking up the space that Dororthy had occupied. Heero waved off the bartender that knew him, he wasn't going to stay long and didn't feel like drinking. He didn't say anything, unsure on how to go about this. All he knew was that he wanted this over as quickly as possible.

Relena's eyes gave a quick up and down, unable to read anything from his body language. He didn't speak and had yet to even acknowledge her. Why did he always have to make things so awkward? He annoyed her so much. She stripped her view from him and turned to look back down at her glass. She sighed before bringing it up to her lips. "Hello, Heero…" Might as well say something, she figured. An audible grunt was heard and Relena rolled her eyes, she expected that. "What brings you here this evening?" she said with as little enthusiasm as possible.

Heero let out a frustrated sigh, he still didn't bother to look at her. "I came here to say sorry..." his tone more surly than apologetic. Relena just tilted her head in confusion. He was here to apologize? That's strange, this she did not expect. Well, it wasn't a great start, she noted, but she would give him a chance. What else was she going to do? Not like Dorothy was around. "... about yesterday. So, yeah, there it is." Heero tore himself away from the counter readying himself to leave. That was it, mission complete, he concluded.

And just as he was about to find the exit, he felt something capture his arm, keeping him from progressing to the door. His eyes darted over to see that Relena had snatched him up and saw this incredible look of disbelief painted over her face. "What?" he questioned gruffly.

"You… you were being serious?" Relena was flabbergasted. "That was supposed to be an apology?"

Heero shrugged, giving her a look as if she was the crazy one. "Yeah."

"Wow…" Relena just slowly shook her head, she just couldn't believe this guy. He really was too far gone. "That's just… wow. Why did you even bother?"

"Relena…" Heero angrily gritted out her name, not in the mood to exchange these words.

"No, Heero, I've had it." Relena wouldn't hear it. He blew up on her, now she would make sure he knew where she stood by doing the same to him. "All you've done since I arrived here was treat me like garbage. You've said hurtful things to me and all I ever wanted to do was play music and maybe talk to you a little about your work. That's all I wanted, Heero."

"And I apologized, right?" Heero flatly stated. Relena's eyes continued to expand, not believing that he still had the gall to call what he did an 'apology'.

"You apologized!?" Her voice went up another octave. Heero noticed people around them begin to watch the scene they were creating. He started feeling uncomfortable, hating to be the center of attention, which was ironic given what he did for a living.

"Relena st-"

"No, shut up for a second." Relena snapped, unaware of all the views they were receiving. Relena never blew up on anybody like this before, it just wasn't in her nature, but Heero was a special case, and it helped that she had some liquid courage in her system. "Let me give you some advice, okay?" She let him go and clasped her hands together. "If you want to give me an actual apology, maybe you should go in the studio and record something. Or, better yet, sing me an apology."

Heero's eyes narrowed at her and he could still feel the gazes of others burning into him. He gritted his teeth in a mixture of displeasure and discomfort.

"Because it seems to me like that's the only way we can get any genuine, human emotion out of you. You are just the absolute worst." Relena shook her head at the pathetic sight he made. She heard Heero grunt and watched as he lowered his head, concealing his eyes with his messy bangs. She hoped it was getting to him, he deserved to be talked down to like this. "And to think, all of this just because of some girl. You're like a teenager, unable to get over a break-up. Aren't you ashamed?"

She thought she saw him shake. _'Good!' _she thought bitterly. Relena really felt like a different person exploding on him like this, but some people don't understand unless you talk to them this way, and it appeared that Heero was that kind of person. "Now I can see why she left you. Who would even want you?"

Heero bit down on his lower lip, trembling a little she said that, his hands turning into tight shaped balls.

"You don't deserve anybody." She continued to scold him, like the child he had acted as all this time. "This is why you're single, and why you'll probably continue to be. You better hope that my predecessor comes back one day, because I can't see anyone else putting up with… _this_." Relena emphasized that part, wanting him to hear the venom dripping from her words. "I bet you didn't even show up here on you own accord. Dorothy was probably the one who mad-"

"You're right."

"What?" Relena paused her tirade, unsure that he heard him correctly.

"You're right." Heero moved his head back up. His face had somewhat softened, giving off an almost defeated look. This took Relena by surprise, as there was an almost morose appearance to his facial features. He raised a finger and wagged it at her. "You're right." His voice held a similar conceding tone to it as he repeated himself. "You're completely right… have a good night." Heero turned on his heels and kept his head low, not wanting to match stares with anyone. His feet took him straight to the doors and Relena watched him leave in complete befuddlement.

"Um, okay then." She wasn't sure what just took place here. Did… she win? She wasn't so sure, remembering what Heero looked and sounded like as she assaulted him with hateful words. She acted like a bitch to him, no doubt, but he deserved it, right? He started it, after all. So now why didn't she feel like she did the right thing? Relena just couldn't understand it. He didn't mean to apologize in the first place, so she felt like she had every right to let him have it. He gave her the green light to go the hell off. Relena felt like her actions were just.

So why doesn't this feel like a complete victory?

She let out an agitated groan and turned on her seat. She eventually noticed all the other patrons looking at her, realizing the scene they must've made. She blushed in embarrassment and dropped her head in front of her.

"Hey, what's with you?" Dorothy finally came back, wondering why Relena's forehead was making good friends with the bar counter. "What happened?"

"Honestly… I don't know." Relena muttered.

* * *

**AN:**** I hope everyone had a happy holiday. I'm just glad it's over, it's always so hectic around this time of year. I'm exhausted lol  
**

**Sonic Youth - "Kill Yr. Idols"**

**Idk why, but I feel like Dorothy would really be into Nico. Maybe it's the blonde hair?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Track 8: Starpower**

SOLD OUT it said in big, bold letters on one side of the Barge marquee. On the other side, it had the names of the two acts performing tonight: It read DO YOU REMEMBER? on the bottom and THE JEZEBELS on top. Outside of the club were gangs of people, young and old, male and female, waiting around for the show to start. Also in front of Barge, were two large, yellow colored tour buses, both of which would be occupied by both bands when the show was over, along with some vans that their gear would be transported in.

Do You Remember? would be taking the stage first, and the roadies were already getting the stage setup for the band. The stacks of speakers were getting lined up and the boys made sure their weapons of choice were tuned up and ready to go, all at the proper sound levels. They never had any elaborate stage presentation, except for a large tarp that hung in the background that had the name of the band in the familiar styling that graced all of their releases.

It was basically just their name with a crack going through the middle of it. Like a lot of things that were visual representations of the band, such as album covers and even shirt designs that they sold, Duo had created it and Heero simply gave his approval. He usually liked Duo's work, so he let the other guitarist in his band work on that element of the group.

The inside of Barge was filling up as well. It surprised everyone sometimes just how many people the place could fit, and that was just those waiting for Heero's band to take the stage. The Jezebels drew in a larger crowd, as they were still the more popular of the two, and _Zen Arcade _becoming a huge critical darling didn't really do anything to change that. Not that it bothered Heero, he didn't care at all about his band's popularity, and if you asked him, The Jezebels were by far the better band.

Well, the old version anyway. He couldn't speak on this one, yet.

Right now, you couldn't find the group of boys who went by the name Do You Remember?, at least not anywhere that wasn't backstage. That's where they hid, waiting for their time to show their faces, getting themselves mentally prepared for the first night here at Barge. It was the moment that Heero Yuy had been waiting for. Getting into that first song would be a huge release for him.

And it would be a huge release for Relena Peacecraft as well. Currently, she walked around the VIP balcony that the club had which overlooked the entire scene. It was an area that Treize built for the many acts that came by his establishment. It was put up directly opposite of the stage, so the people hanging out there got a good view of both the club and the live performances.

This night arrived faster than Relena thought. She spent the past couple weeks just learning as many songs as she could. Dorothy and Hilde reassured her that she didn't have to know everything from top to bottom, reminding her that _Dig Me Out _would get the bulk of the attention. Relena eventually gave in, which ended up being the better choice, because that meant she could use that time to actually work on some original material. She didn't know if recording an album this year would be feasible, considering that they already released something not that long ago, but that didn't stop her from sharing her ideas with the girls. Dorothy was already familiar with some of the things Relena had brought to the table, as they were basically reworked versions of stuff she heard from when they were both in school together.

It honestly became the most fun thing leading up to this first show. Hilde, who had little knowledge of Relena's work, was really impressed with what she wanted to create with them. If she had to be honest, there was a much more fun vibe when working with Relena in comparison to Sylvia. Hilde got tired with how much squabbling would take place between Dorothy and Heero's ex. Of course, they always got to a point of compromise and created awesome music, but it was much more of a struggle than it needed to be. With Relena, she didn't see that happening; it helped that her and Dorothy already knew each other. Hilde also saw herself getting friendly with the Peacecraft girl. She had to say, Relena was easy to like and work with. It honestly made her excited when the idea of tinkering on another album came to mind.

Dorothy watched Relena begin to pace around, wondering if the girl was getting nervous. Well, it wouldn't shock her if she was, it's not like Relena ever played for an audience like this before. Actually, she never played for any audience, really. They jammed together in the past, but only people they hung out with saw them. That wasn't much of a crowd. She hoped Relena wouldn't get too overwhelmed, now wasn't the time to get stage fright. Hopefully the only thing she would have to worry about in regards to Relena was her interactions with Heero.

Relena told her about what happened here two weeks ago just after she returned from talking with Treize. At that point, Dorothy threw in the towel. She didn't care anymore, and it was clear there was nothing that could be done. Heero would just have to keep his distance from Relena, and really, Dorothy too. She also had it with Heero and would not put up with him any longer. It would make the tour more stressful than it should be, but what could be done? Men truly were the strangest of creatures was Dorothy's thinking.

"Feeling alright, Relena?" Hilde asked, sitting on one of the nicely pillowed chairs the balcony had to offer. "You look a little nervous."

"I agree, you really need to have a seat, it's not like the boys have even hit the stage yet." Dorothy watched her friend, arms and legs both crossed in front of her.

"Yeah, I know…" she responded skittishly. The Jezebels' newest addition had a stomach crowded with butterflies. She hoped to god that this feeling would cease when their time came. The last thing she needed was a panic attack before their set. She did not want this to blow up in her face.

Relena eyed the stage, watching as the crowd continued to get rowdy, waiting for Heero's band to unveil themselves. They were already getting rough and not a single song even started yet. She knew that their shows got vicious, but she never saw it up close herself. She wondered if future crowds would calm down as Heero took the band in a much more melodic direction.

"So sit, wait until the lights go down and relax." Dorothy advised her. "I don't need my dear leader to tire herself out pacing like a drug addict before we even strap on our guitars."

Relena released an anxious sigh and took Dorothy's advice. "Fine…" Relena occupied one of the empty seats, hoping that this would still her rapidly pounding heart. She thought when she arrived in this town that she would have herself together by the night of the first show, but now she was getting way more nervous than she expected. She knew something like this would happen, because after all, she never took part in an actual live performance like this, but she didn't think she'd feel this crazy. She really needed Heero to take the stage, maybe that would help her get it together.

She couldn't believe she was internally asking Heero for assistance.

As expected, things were weird between them after their last meeting here two weeks ago. They only bumped into each other less than a handful of times since then, and each time Heero refused to look at her, keeping his head low and moving on. He never said anything to her and vice-versa. She guessed they both silently agreed to just let things between them remain as they were. Relena still felt strange about how she unloaded on him, struggling to come to a conclusion on if what she said to him was right.

On one hand, yeah, it was. After what he told her, most people would have said that she still went too easy on him.

On the other hand, it just wasn't Relena's style to attack someone like that. She went at him personally, going straight for his failed love life. She wondered if she would have gone that far if she wasn't drinking.

Why did things have to be so bad between them? Like she thought when she first met him, she went back to that saying people would bring up whenever 'celebrities', or whatever you would call someone like Heero, were involved: Never meet your heroes.

She looked over to her side, watching Hilde and Dorothy talk about whatever. She was still fighting off the nerves and the conflicting thoughts pertaining to Heero. It was not a great time to be dealing with these things. Relena closed her eyes and leaned back into the seat, taking deep breaths and letting the time pass by.

As the night progressed, the girls grabbed themselves a couple of drinks, but made sure to keep the alcohol consumption at a minimum. They didn't need a tipsy Jezebel messing something up on stage. Relena was grateful for this, as it helped calm her down a bit and she hoped that it would last.

Eventually Quatre showed up and joined them, and as she expected, Dorothy stuck close to the young music executive's side. Things were so obvious between those two, Relena wondered why Dorothy didn't just go on and make things official.

But before she could think anymore on that subject, the lights dimmed and the impatient crowd roared. They knew their time to go apeshit had only just begun. The three girls plus one Quatre got close to the edge of the balcony. The crowd were so ready to explode; moshing already taking place as they waited to see the four horsemen of Do You Remember?

And that's what Relena saw, an explosion of cheers and applause as the boys finally hit the stage. Wufei immediately took his spot and, without a second to waste, he started attacking his equipment. The drums quickly galloped along and Relena knew they were starting off with the first track from _Zen Arcade_: The song was called 'Something I Learned Today'. It was one of the more aggressive songs off the album, something these people were primed for.

Trowa stood in front of Wufei, back turned to the audience, waiting for Heero to give the signal. Duo and Heero approached each other, ending up face to face. The former just stood there, giving the latter a silly grin while Heero just looked at him, face as serious as always. They stood there for a bit, like they were talking without flapping their mouths, ignoring the crowds desperate pleas to go off. Heero eventually backed away from Duo, grabbing his Flying V and blowing up the speakers with ear piercing feedback. Duo turned to the audience, playfully taunting and chatting with them, adding some feedback of his own with his all black Stratocaster.

Relena watched as they worked the crowd into a frenzy without even fully getting into it. She examined as Heero prowled the stage, eyes possessing his usual intensity that only got stronger now that he was on stage.

If she hadn't been in such a rough spot with Heero, she wouldn't mind being a little more open about how insanely hot he was. Her cheeks burned at that admission, but it was true, it's just that Heero made her forget that fact about him with his awful personality. But studying him further, Relena remembered his off-the-charts level of attractiveness. The best way Relena could describe Heero's good looks to anybody was like this…

He had a wild, feral beauty to him. His blue eyes burned with hunger, like an animal on the hunt, and his unkempt head gave him a savage appearance that leaned much more towards the sexier side of things. She got the feeling that he didn't do much, or anything, to keep his hair looking that way. He was just being natural, and here he was, this magnificent beast owning his habitat. Heero was ready to pounce, and the audience was his prey. He wanted to eat them alive and, as much as she hated to admit it, he was devouring her as well.

Why did he have to be such an asshole? Relena could only just groan.

Heero decided to stop toying with the crowd and gave Trowa the nod. Barton got the message and started working on the chugging bass line that complemented Wufei's fast paced drumming.

Eventually, the signature fuzzy guitars tore right through the rhythm section and Duo and Heero got ready to get this started. The band finally got in sync and the song went into high gear. The crowd exploded as expected, bodies flying as the pit got underway, pushing and shoving commenced and the 'dance' begun with security guards doing their best to keep people from falling over and hurting each other.

Duo shook his head side to side like a maniac, his braid flying around him like a whip. Heero approached the microphone as it was time to address the crowd, bombarding them with his lyrics.

_Something I learned today!_

_Black and white is always gray!_

_Looking through the windowpane! _

_I'm not inside… your brain, your brain!_

Heero barked out his words, and much like his on-record screaming, unless you read the lyrics, you weren't actually sure what he was saying. But if you knew, then you knew. Wufei continued to pummel his drums and Trowa's bass added that extra bit of warmth to Heero and Duo's cold blooded fuzz.

_Something I learned today!_

_Yield to the right of way!_

_Stopping at a four-way sign!_

_Someone else's rules… not mine, not mine! _

Heero added some more incoherent screaming at the end of that last stanza. He and Duo brutally struck their guitar strings, playing the hell out of the chords that made this fierce punk song what it was. Duo looked over to his bass player, giving him a smirk, letting him know they were all truly alive right now. Trowa would have to agree, the four of them were born to do this.

_Something I learned today!_

_Never look straight in the sun's rays!_

_Letting all the sunshine in!_

_Can't remember where… I've been, I've been!_

The song was reaching the end and Relena's eyes couldn't be torn away from Heero. He may not have been the most sociable, or the nicest guy around, but he had this bizarre, enchanting charisma about him that she saw more as she watched him perform. It was one thing to see it on video, but it was another to see him live.

As much as she knew about what made him a single man again, she could also see why any girl could fall for him in the first place. A stoic Heero who never addressed the audience, aside from his singing and shouting, and just focused on assaulting them with brutal noise and hard glares was something that captivated Relena. He held a weird, but absorbing kind of starpower that couldn't be denied.

Again, why did he have to be such an asshole?

Duo joined Heero on vocals, barking along with him as they rode the track out, repeating the song's title over and over again a few more times.

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

_Something I learned today!_

The song reached its conclusion and crashed and burned at the finish line. The crowd cheered their approval, but Heero gave them no time to recover. He sliced through his guitar, letting others know that they wouldn't let up. They went straight into the next song, the depressingly titled, but equally searing 'Broken Home, Broken Heart', which was also the second song off _Zen Arcade_. Relena wondered if they were just going through the album from track one all the way to the end. Heero went for the mic again, his voice echoing all over.

_I look at your house, I wonder what goes on inside_

_When you have to cry yourself to sleep at night_

_Your parents fight, you don't know who's wrong or right_

_Have to cry yourself to sleep at night_

Just watching the crowd go berserk again, Relena started to feel a sense of dread. She had hoped that watching Heero and his band play would calm her nerves, but honestly, it only made it worse, because now she would have to somehow find a way to follow this.

For the third time tonight she thought the same thing: Why did he have to be such an asshole?

_A broken home, a broken heart_

_When the two of them will have to part_

_It's a broken home, broken heart_

_Now you know just how it feels_

_To have to cry yourself to sleep at night!_

* * *

Heero sat on one of the seats in the balcony area. He was tired, but felt incredible all the same; the rest of the boys also shared his blissful exhaustion. They spent it all on the stage, and a little more on helping put their gear away, getting it prepared to take off for the next stop. They would have to arrive at their next destination in a couple days.

He ran both hands over his face, wiping of the residual sweat that remained after all of that action. It felt great to get the first one under his belt. They hadn't been in front of a crowd since the _Metal Circus _tour, and that had been a while. He almost forgot what it felt like to tear the stage apart like that. Now all that was left was to watch Dorothy, Hilde and Relena do their thing.

He kept his eyes shut, his mind wandering to the owner of that last name he thought of. Ever since she berated him here, all he could think about was getting his shit together. He had gotten grief about Sylvia from others before, Dorothy being the most prominent voice, but for whatever reason, getting completely chewed out by Relena like that felt different. Granted, her words were a lot more scathing than anything he had heard up to that point. He wasn't exactly sure why they affected him so, he figured if anyone had talked down to him like Relena did, then he would find himself in a shouting match. Hell, if it were a guy, he might've even found himself in a fist fight. He wouldn't let disrespect like that slide.

But that wasn't what happened. Instead, he just took the shots and walked away with his tail tucked between his legs. It was embarrassing, and he couldn't remember the last time anything, or anyone, ever made him feel that uncomfortable. He wondered if that was how Relena felt when he yelled at her back at Peacemillion. Heero also didn't do himself any favors by acting in bad faith, going to Barge with no intention of actually meaning his 'apology'. He really did treat her like garbage.

She was right, he was the worst. The more he reflected on her words, he began to realize how stupid he must've looked like to everyone. Why it took him this long to realize it, he had no idea. It shouldn't matter how attached he was to Sylvia, he should've found a way to move on. He figured if she was coming back to him, he would have heard something by now. He had to start moving past this whole thing already, and that's what he had been thinking about leading up to tonight. He was going to try and keep his ex out of his thoughts as much as possible.

As difficult as it was to admit, Sylvia was now a distraction, and he had to treat her as such. It was time to get over it, something he should've worked on doing a while ago. Perhaps watching the girls play without her would help him.

Which reminded Heero that they should've been out by now. He pulled out his phone and looked at the time. Yeah, they most definitely should've started already. They probably should've been a few songs in at this point. He looked over at the guys, and they all seemed to be wondering the same thing. He got up from his seat and joined them.

"You try calling or texting her?" Trowa asked, aiming his question at Quatre.

The young blonde man shook his head. "No, they left their phones up here, not wanting anything to distract them. That's what Dorothy said, and that's why I have both her phone and Relena's."

"Yeah, Hil left hers with me." Duo mentioned, waving Hilde's.

"They're getting restless down there." Wufei looked over the balcony, noticing that Barge was now at maximum capacity. A sea of Jezebel and Do You Remember? fans were growing louder and more impatient as time went by. "What's taking these women so damn long?"

Heero approached the edge, eyes scanning the ground floor that was infested with crazed music heads. This was strange, he never recalled them going on this late. They should've hit the lights about twenty five minutes ago. His eyes narrowed, beginning to feel like something wasn't right.

"Weird." Duo took a sip of his beer he had brought up to him. "Hope everything is chill down there. Maybe there's some sort of technical issue?"

"Doubtful, I spoke to Rashid and the rest of the crew. They said everything was good to go." Quatre replied with a shake of his head. "I could be wrong, but those guys are always on top of things." Quatre trusted Rashid and the rest of the Maganacs. They acted as both roadies and equipment engineers and they never let anything go haywire. If they messed up tonight, it would be a first for the group.

Heero nodded, he knew that those guys were great at what they did. There was no way they botched anything. He started getting worried now, because if it wasn't a technical screw up, then what could it have been? His curiosity was starting to get the better of him and now he began to feel antsy.

"True, but there's always a first time for everything." the braided guitarist stated.

"Whatever it is, we've got ourselves a pissed off mob down there. Time keeps slipping away." Wufei, too, was getting annoyed like the rest of the paying customers that inhabited the space below them.

"Is Treize here?" Trowa questioned Quatre again.

Quatre smirked. "No, believe me, we would have heard something from him by now. You know he's big on punctuality."

"True." Trowa chuckled. "I say we give them a few more minutes before one of us goes down there and checks things out."

"I'm not going down there." Wufei walked over to take a seat. "They're not my responsibility."

"I expected that." Trowa smiled at the drummer.

"Well we know who won't be going." Quatre added with a sigh.

"Screw it, I'll go down there." Duo announced, chugging the rest of his bottled down. "I wanna know what's going on, anyway. What do you think, Heero?" Duo addressed their leader, but realized that he was nowhere to be found all of a sudden. "Hey, where did Heero go?"

The rest of the guys looked around. None of them noticed when Heero slipped away.

* * *

The worried look in Hilde's eyes remained as she further analyzed Relena. This had been going on for way too long, and they could hear the crowd losing it even from back here in the green room. This was not good. "We can't do this anymore, Relena."

Relena didn't say anything, she just bit her lip and plastered her back to the wall. Her eyes were downcast and she tightly kept her arms crossed. Hilde was right, but there was nothing she could do, her body was paralyzed with fear. The worst case scenario was happening, and she was just too scared to go out there and face that ravenous crowd. She felt ashamed as she leaned there, trying her hardest to fight off the panic that threatened to consume her whole. It took everything just to keep from breaking down and collapsing at her feet. Maybe she did end up biting off more than she can chew.

Dorothy stood by Hilde and looked at the clock that hung on the wall. They needed to get out of this room. They tried their best to talk Relena up, encouraging her to not worry and play. But nothing they could tell her worked, and now Dorothy was wondering if she should've started off small with Relena. This may have been too much, too soon. "Relena…" Dorothy didn't know what else she could say. The last thing she wanted was to call this show off. If she couldn't perform tonight, then this whole tour might be in jeopardy. It may just end up being Do You Remember? traveling on their own from the looks of things.

"I'm sorry, guys…" Relena uttered, not able to find the dignity to look at them. "I'm screwing this all up. I'm so so sorry…" She couldn't find the courage to get past this and on top of it all, she was letting them all down. What should've been an amazing night that was supposed to help solidify her spot in this world had now devolved into a nightmare.

"This isn't good." Dorothy wondered if she should just forget about handling this themselves and grab one of the guys for… something. She wasn't sure what any of them could do, but she guessed that if things continued to deteriorate, then maybe one of them could take Relena's spot. She hated that idea, but she was quickly running out of options.

And it didn't help that the only member of Do You Remember? that knew enough of their songs was Heero. He was the last person she wanted to reach out to. Something needed to be done, and that crowd would riot if they weren't given what they paid for. Treize would definitely NOT be happy about that. Also, Quatre's hard work putting all of this together for them would all be for nothing as well. Too much was on the line! Dorothy needed to take matters into her own hands.

"Okay, Relena I-" A knock at the door cut her off. "Ugh, if it's Rashid or Auda or whoever, just tell them to go away, I've got this under control."

Hilde reached over to crack the door open. Once she saw who was on the other side, she gave Dorothy something of a bewildered expression. "Uh…" Hilde would have chuckled if they weren't in the situation they were in.

"What, who is it?" Dorothy asked, exasperated at Hilde's look. "Or just tell whoever it is to go away. We don't have time for this."

Hilde turned back to look at their 'guest'. "Um, you heard her… what?... okay…" She moved to the side and allowed this person entry, showing them that Heero Yuy had come to pay them a visit.

"What are you doing here?" a borderline enraged Dorothy questioned. "Hilde, why did you let him in?"

"I don't know, he asked to come in!" Hilde tried to defend her actions.

"And you let him in, just like that." Dorothy couldn't believe her drummer. Hilde just shrugged, annoying Dorothy even further. Her boyfriend's idiocy was rubbing off on her.

Heero surveyed the room, his view moving from each girl, finally landing on Relena. Her body language clearly showing a heightened level of distress. Her brows were furrowed and her head was the only one that refused to acknowledge his arrival. He assumed some of that had to do with her disapproval of him being there, not that he could blame her.

He went back to Dorothy and decided to get to the bottom of this. "You guys are supposed to be on." He thought he heard something of a whimper escape Relena as he said that.

"I appreciate you showing up to state the obvious, Heero. I'm glad you're here, we needed that." Dorothy's words soaked with sarcasm.

"So what's the issue?" Heero was gonna need more than Dorothy's snide comments on this one. "They're losing it out there."

As much as Dorothy didn't want Heero's help, as she was still pissed at him for the crap he'd been pulling with Relena, there really was nowhere else to go with this. She had to say something. "Well…" Heero followed her eyes, and his view landed on the girl with her back to the wall. He had a feeling it was related to her. "Relena… she's…"

"The crowd might be a little too much for her tonight." Hilde jumped in. A grunt came out of Relena and Heero picked up on what the problem was. She was not prepared to handle this kind of spotlight, and Heero wondered why it took so long for them to realize this. Dorothy knew Relena didn't have any experience, so she should've known something like this could happen. Well, regardless, this wasn't ideal and something had to be done, that crowd was too hot to wait any longer.

"I see…" There was no time to waste, Heero knew he had to help out in some way. He quickly ran through some ideas in his head and came to the conclusion that Relena needed more time. He was gonna try and get her right. She may not have been ready for this, but she had been pushed into the deep end, and now she was going to learn how to swim. "Dorothy…"

"What?"

"You and Hilde go out there and give them 'Starpower'." Heero suggested, alluding to the fact that half way through a Jezebels set, Sylvia would take a break and Dorothy would play a cover of one of her favorite songs. That song always being the aforementioned 'Starpower'.

Dorothy sighed, showing how not into Heero's idea she was. "I have a routine, Heero. I don't play that to start the show. Besides, how's that supposed to help?"

Dorothy needed to get over that, Heero thought with an added eye roll. "Just do it. I guarantee that she'll be out there by the time the song is finished."

"Really?" a skeptical, forked eyebrow raised. "You guarantee this?"

He said he did, but honestly, Heero wasn't sure if he could make it happen. Either way, he needed some private time with Relena. He was going to try and kill two birds with one stone. He nodded at her, hoping to clear the room. "Just give me some time with her, I'll make it work."

"Dorothy, no, don't leave me here with this guy!" Relena finally spoke and Heero flinched at her words. Again, he couldn't blame her.

The platinum blonde looked over at Relena, her face begging to not be abandoned with Heero. She could sympathize with her friend, but there wasn't much of a choice left. Truth be told, Heero's idea wasn't bad. It gave the crowd something to work with while Heero did whatever to help Relena. What he planned to do, she had no idea, but if Heero wanted to get back into her good graces, then pulling this off would be a fantastic start.

There was a banging on the door. "Hey, what's going on? You guys coming out or what? It's starting to look like an early Do You Remember? show out there. The security is getting their asses kicked!" It was Abdul, one of the roadies, his voice slightly muffled.

"Damn." Dorothy cursed. "Fine, do what you need to do." She looked over at Hilde, motioning her to follow. "Let's go."

"Dorothy!" Relena pleaded once more, watching as the two of her bandmates began to take their leave.

They both looked back at the girl, feeling sorry for her, but they had to do this. This tour and their reputations were at stake. "Sorry, Lena…" Hilde felt bad leaving her behind.

"Just work on yourself, dear. We'll be waiting for you. And Heero... for the love of god, do NOT screw this up again!" and with Dorothy's final comments, they left the two alone in the green room.

Relena banged a fist on the wall behind her, frustration taking hold. She turned her eyes over to the only other person left with her and gave him a nasty look, needing him to know that she didn't appreciate him doing this to her. Heero didn't bother matching angry glares. He just released a sigh and moved over to lean on the wall beside her. He shoved his hands in his pockets and listened as the crowd erupted, signaling the beginning of their set.

They both heard Dorothy start the song, strumming at those chords before Hilde accompanied her with her simple drum work. Heero looked at Relena, her head downward once more. She looked so much more vulnerable now than he had ever seen her before. If he concentrated on her hard enough, he could start to see her body give off these slight shivers. It was clear how overwhelmed she was with both her discomfort being around him and the whole thing involving this performance. He could tell she was beating herself up for letting them down. Relena was really looking forward to this, and it was backfiring once she realized this may have been more than she bargained for.

This wasn't the same girl that tore into him a couple of weeks ago.

"This song isn't very long." Heero began, knowing he had to get started. "You need to get out there."

"Shut up…" Relena replied, not wanting to hear that from him.

Heero listened as Dorothy's voice came through the speakers, the blonde doing her best imitation of the original female singers voice.

_Spinning dreams with angel wings_

_Torn blue jeans, a foolish grin_

_Burning down in the night_

_So cool, so right_

_Starpower, starpower, starpower_

_Over me_

"Hey," Heero banged his head back into the wall. "Look, I'm… sorry for how I've been acting towards you." He was going to try this apology thing again, he owed it to her.

"I've heard that before." Relena spat at him, not wanting to fall for that one again.

"I know, but I mean it this time." Heero's eyes stared directly into the ceiling, finding the words to convince her he meant what he said.

"Sure, Heero." If that was supposed to make her believe him, then he was sadly mistaken.

Heero knew she wasn't going to take him seriously right away, it wasn't like she was obligated to. It was his job to get himself out of this hole, not hers. "I understand you not wanting to believe me, but I've been thinking about what you said."

Relena slowly craned her head to glance over at him. She eyed him warily, still not trusting him, but there was something in his tone that sounded a little more considered than prior talks with him. She was still on her guard, however, so she wasn't gonna get the rugged pulled from underneath her again.

"What you told me…" Heero resumed. "I won't lie to you, it hurt. I've never been talked to like that before, but it's what I needed to hear. I needed my ass kicked in like that."

There was an openness to how he was talking to her, and she would admit that he sounded a hell of a lot more genuine now than the last time he tried this.

"You were right, just like everyone else, and I refused to listen. I wasn't over Sylvia, and I stupidly took it out on you when all you ever wanted to do was play music." Relena watched his face contort into a look that expressed a deep frustration within himself. Okay, it was obvious that he wasn't kidding around this time. "If you won't forgive me, I'll understand, but I thought you should know this. Again, I'm sorry, and I hope we can get past this, maybe not now but hopefully soon, if you want to that is." His words carried a tune of regret and atonement, and it played well to Relena's ears.

_She knows how to make love to me_

_She knows how to make love_

_Close my eyes and think of you_

_Everything turns black to blue_

_Starpower, starpower, starpower_

_Over me_

From there, they heard Dorothy and Hilde go into the middle of their cover, an instrumental part that would carry over to the closing verse. They were halfway there.

Relena sighed, knowing there was some apologizing she had to do herself. "Well, since we're on the topic, allow me to apologize as well. I shouldn't have said all of those nasty things to you. I don't typically do crap like that, so I hope you can forgive me, too."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Heero refuted, his voice low and rumbling. "I only came to this realization because of what you said." He lowered his head to match stares with her. "Because of you, I've decided it's time to move forward, I'll get over my ex on my own, and believe me I will, and I'll do my best to make up for how I've acted towards you, Relena."

There was something about how that baritone of his uttered her name that sent a chill down her spine. There was probably an added effect because of how close she was to that feral beauty of his that she thought about earlier during his performance. She swallowed down a lump and calmed herself down. The last thing she needed was extra anxiety, even if it was induced by a hot guy.

"You don't need to do all that, Heero." Relena shook her head. "Just doing this was enough. I hope we can start over and, who knows, maybe we'll become good friends." She gave him a smile, one that he could finally appreciate and he felt his head get a little fuzzy when he looked at it. He had admitted to himself that she was attractive before, but now seeing it up close and with no hate for her, he could call her beauty almost angelic… heavenly, even.

Heaven…

He shook those thoughts off, now wasn't the time.

"Yeah, I'd… like that." he nodded in approval at that suggestion. He moved from his spot on the wall and wandered as he heard Dorothy begin to sing the final verse.

_Burning down in the night_

_Super cool it's alright_

_She knows how to make love to me_

_She knows how to make love_

_Close my mind when I think of you _

_Everything turns black to blue_

_Starpower, starpower, starpower_

_Over me_

They both listened intently, knowing that the song was winding down. There wasn't much time left.

"Heero," Relena began again, moving off the wall to approach him, still giving off a troubled vibe. "I appreciate everything you just said, but… I'm still in a tough spot. I don't know if I can go out there. I may have gotten myself into something that maybe I wasn't quite ready for."

"Hn." She may have been right, but that didn't mean something couldn't be done, at least for tonight, and maybe she would be better in subsequent shows. Everyone had to start somewhere. "I have an idea."

"Really?"

Heero gave her a nod. It was something that he had done for Syl… no, he was not going to think of her anymore. He told himself he wouldn't. She was nothing but a distraction now. Helping Relena… that took priority. "I can't guarantee for sure that this will work, but…"

"Didn't you tell Dorothy that you guaranteed I'll be out there?" Relena teased him. Heero rolled his eyes, now wasn't the time for wisecracks. Relena had to fight back a snicker. Well, at least she was a lot more looser now, Heero noted, and her anxiety had decreased to some extent, at least enough for her to joke around.

"Anyway, I have an idea." Heero continued. "I'll go back to the balcony and I want you to find me."

Relena wasn't sure where he was going with this plan of his. "Okay… and?"

"That's all." Heero flatly stated.

Confusion wiped over Relena's face and she shook her head. "That's all? How's that supposed to help?"

"Just find me up there, and focus only on me." Heero explained his plan. "You don't look at anyone in the audience, okay? You perform for me and only me." That last part came off a little more possessive than he wanted, but it was too late, he already said it.

Relena had to hold down the blush that threatened to burn her face. She wasn't sure if Heero knew what he said, but she got the idea. It was something to go with, and even though she wasn't sure if it would work, she would have to believe in him. "Okay, then."

Heero went for the door, preparing to leave the room, needing to quickly make his way to the balcony for her to see him. He opened it and gave Relena one last look. "So, are you ready?"

Relena shrugged with an added, nervous chuckle. "I guess as ready as I'll ever be."

"Then you'll execute our plan?" Heero asked, giving her one last question before taking his station, and maybe drinking in her attractive image once more.

Relena looked into that determined face of his. She could tell he really wanted her to succeed. He not only correctly apologized for what he had done to her, but now he was going out of his way to help her when she needed it the most. It felt great to be on the same side for once. Hopefully this would be the start of a great relationship.

"Yes I will, Heero." Relena confirmed. "Mission accepted."

* * *

**AN:**** See, they're getting somewhere! Love you all! See you in 2020! **

**Hüsker Dü - "Something I Learned Today"**

**Hüsker Dü - "Broken Home, Broken Heart"**

**Sonic Youth - "Starpower"**


	9. Chapter 9

**Track 9: Words and Guitar**

Relena headed down the hall that led to the stage where her two partners were waiting. They were still riding the end of 'Starpower', stretching it out for a little more time. The crowd seemed to be buying it, but Relena assumed that there were some in attendance who were wondering why only two of them made their presence known. It sucked to be in this perdiciment, because that meant there would be more attention on her than before. If she would have hit the stage with Hilde and Dorothy from the beginning, then at least she would've been a part of the group. Now, it looked like she was getting her own special entrance. Like this was some grand reveal for the new girl.

She really screwed this up, she thought.

Keeping a fist tightly against her breast, she tried her best to steady her breathing, doing what she could to keep from hyperventilating. Relena fought as much as she could to keep her stage fright and stress from turning her feet into stone and stopping her progress. Her mind needed to be clear, otherwise she would collapse from a panic attack. She began to wonder what would happen if she just stopped moving now, maybe even fleeing back into the green room. It started to sound tempting, but just as she considered a possible retreat, another thought pushed that away.

"_I'll do my best to make up for how I've acted towards you, Relena."_

She had to keep moving, because he was going to be up there watching. Heero's voice reverberated throughout her head. Right now, he was heading for the balcony where he would keep his eye on her. Heero was rooting for her, and she knew it. He was extending a helping hand when he didn't have to. There might have been some left over guilt from his past behavior, but for whatever reason, Relena felt there might have been something more to Heero offering his assistance. She wanted to think a little more about that, but she had something to accomplish that took precedence.

Especially since there was now a third person she couldn't let down.

She would perform for those Prussian colored spotlights only, and that tinted her cheeks a rose colored shade. She chuckled at those somewhat suggestive thoughts, still wondering if Heero knew exactly what he said when those words flew past his lips. She guessed he didn't, and she found it amusing to think that Heero was accidentally smooth talking her.

She felt her body start to relax when she thought of him and a slight grin appeared on her face. He was helping her already and she didn't even hit the stage yet.

Finding herself right at the end of the hall, Relena locked stares with Dorothy, who strummed away to the end of the song. The look in Dorothy's eyes asked Relena if she was okay, if she was really good to go. Relena responded with a nod of the head. Butterflies still swirled within her stomach, but it was time for the show to start. Dorothy nodded back at her and then looked at Hilde, letting her know that their third member was on her way.

It was now or never. She reminded herself that this was what she wanted. It was in her grasp and she wasn't going to let it slip away. _'Heero… watch me, I'll show you what I can do.'_

That was her last thought before she took her first step out, officially introducing their fans to the young woman known as Relena Peacecraft.

* * *

Heero finally returned to the balcony where Quatre and his bandmates were still hanging out, all of them looking at him questioningly. He wasn't interested in telling them what happened, he had something else on his mind, and right now that was all he could concentrate on. He moved as fast as he could to make it back; he had no intention of letting her down like before. He would do whatever he could to rectify his mistakes, knowing that from here on out he would never disappoint her ever again.

"Yo, where the hell did you go?" Duo asked, being the first to speak.

Heero didn't bother answering, moving right for the edge of balcony so he could lean over the railing, almost looking like he would fall over if he leaned in any further. He focused all of his attention on the stage, waiting for Relena to appear. He was glad that he got there before she showed up, but also kind of worried that maybe she was having second thoughts. His forehead began to crease, not liking how that sat with him. He heard her play before, and he knew that she had a passion for this. Heero felt like she had it in her to blow people away, she just needed to find her stage legs.

Some people were just born for this, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt like Relena was a part of that group. She just needed help to find that out herself, and that's why he found himself watching a Jezebels show more intently than he ever had before. Yup, even more than when _she _was in the band.

He noticed Dorothy peered to the side, clearly looking over at something or someone. She nodded and then she looked over at Hilde. Heero watched this go down and then heard the audience begin to get louder, giving a sort of tepid cheer once the third member of the band finally stepped out. He watched closely as Relena did her best to keep her view away from the crowd. Heero could tell they weren't sure what to make of her; they were probably confused as to why she came out last.

His eyes remained on Relena as she approached her Fender Jaguar, watching as she threw the strap over her shoulder. She moved very apprehensively and he could tell she was still struggling to maintain her composure. She stood there, fiddling with her guitar knowing full well she still couldn't turn to face the crowd. At that moment, Heero wished that he could somehow talk to her from where he stood. If only there was some way his voice could reach her... to tell her that it was going to be fine… but Heero knew that wasn't possible. The best he could do was remain on the balcony like he promised and who knows, maybe his thoughts could reach her.

'_C'mon, Relena… you can do this. I'm right here, so look at me.' _Heero tried to communicate. _'I know how good you are. You have the talent, and if this crowd is smart... ' _He looked on as Dorothy approached her. _'... then they'll like you, too.' _

* * *

"Are we all set, Relena?" Dorothy asked the young woman, watching as her friend took deep breaths and tried to calm herself. She was still unconvinced that Relena was ready to be out here, and the crowd was restless once more. She even heard some slight jeering which was not common at any of their shows. "Relena, we need to-"

"Just tell me one thing." Relena spoke, exhaling one more time.

"What?" Dorothy noticed a slight change in her demeanor.

"Tell me, is Heero up there?" she asked, just needing that one thing confirmed to her.

"Heero? What do you mean?" a perplexed Dorothy questioned.

"On the balcony... is Heero up there?" Relena asked again. Her answer would determine whether or not this show would begin.

"Um…" Dorothy took a quick glance up at the balcony, and the first thing she noticed was Heero looking like he was about to dive into the crowd. She looked back at Relena and nodded. "Yes, I see him."

Relena nodded and gave her bandmate a smile. "That's all I needed to know." Dorothy was confused, but figured that this had something to do with whatever plan Heero had when they left them alone. She wanted to know more, but now clearly wasn't them time. They had wasted enough already. "I'm ready. Let's go."

"About time." Dorothy smirked. She looked at Hilde once more before backing away, trusting Relena would kick things off.

Relena tightly grabbed her guitar and began lightly strumming away at the strings. The distorted sound bounced off the walls of the club, riling up the crowd who were more than ready for another song to begin, preferably one that belonged to them. Relena obliged and kicked off with the title track to their latest album. The recognizable riff shot right through the crowd like a bolt of lightning. She picked at the strings with purpose with Dorothy jumped in to provide extra energy with her black Gibson Les Paul. Hilde's fast, maniacal drumming backed them up, kicking it up another gear. The maximum capacity crowd couldn't keep still, exploding at the combined skills of the three women.

The time for Relena to sing came… and after releasing one last breath, she backed up and spun to find herself in front of the mic. Her eyes immediately shot upwards, not even curious to know what the crowd looked like, to find the man who got her out there in the first place. She couldn't see him perfectly, but still felt the encouraging stare of his eyes pushing her to play to the best of her ability.

_Dig me out, Dig me in_

_Out of this mess, baby, out my head_

_What do you want? What do you know?_

_One to get started, Three till we go_

A feeling of relief washed over Heero, glad to finally see her out there. He could tell she was focusing on him, and that's exactly how he wanted it. He nodded along with the song, watching as she played the hell out of her Jaguar. Her voice, expanded by the loud stacks of speakers, vibrated pleasantly through his ears. He had heard her sing before, but while he begrudgingly accepted her talent then, he found himself appreciating it a lot more now. He didn't have those Sylvia blinders on anymore, and he could see Relena at her best. Now, they were coming to the chorus.

_Dig me out! Dig me in!_

_Out of this mess, baby, out of my head!_

_Dig me out! Dig me in!_

_Out of my body, Out of my skin!_

Her shouting was different than Sylvia's, Heero noted. He said he wouldn't think of his ex anymore, but really, what other comparison was there to make? While Sylvia's voice could rise to this vicious caterwaul that Heero always appreciated as a punk guy, Relena's held a smoother, almost silky like feel to it. There was a warmth to her voice that embraced Heero, and he held a very favorable opinion of it. Much like how he slowly evolved from his punk roots in his music, he found himself appreciating her singing style more as she continued, leaving what was there before in the rearview as she arrived at the breakdown.

_You got me..._

_For now..._

_I'm here..._

_For now..._

With the occasional look at her guitar, or at her bandmates, Relena never once peered into the mass of people in front of her. It felt strange to think, but she didn't care about the fans. No, like he said, there was only one person in attendance that should matter to her, at least for tonight. Although his visage was farther away than she would've liked, she could still see him nodding along with the music in what she felt was a mixture of enjoyment and approval. This only emboldened Relena to lose herself in her performance, going at that riff with more spirit and intensity.

_What do you want? What do you know?_

_Do you get nervous making me go?_

_Get into your sores, get into your things_

_Do you get nervous watching me bleed?_

After another go at the chorus, Heero could see that she was getting there. Her comfort level was rising, and it made him feel something to be a part of that. His heart began thudding a little bit harder as a sense of pride swelled within him. It also helped that she looked, well, incredibly beautiful as well. Heero reached over, squeezing his arm as he thought that.

_I wear your rings and sores_

_In me, in me, it shows_

_You got me..._

_For now..._

_I'm here..._

_For now..._

Heero studied her appearance. She kind of reminded him of some of the girls that he saw at these shows, but she was far from just another punk chick in the crowd. No, not with that face, Heero thought. With those flawless, golden strands dancing around her perfectly shaped face as she moved, Heero could feel himself getting hypnotized, and it didn't help that he requested that she look up directly at him. She stood in contrast with Dorothy beside her who always wore expensive designer dresses and heels that cost as much, if not more, than some of their instruments. He always found that funny as she would kick off her shoes halfway through the set anyway. But, he didn't pretend to understand women's fashion, nor did he try to understand Dorothy, either. Oh well, not his arena, that's Quatre's.

_Oh, God, let me in_

_There's nowhere else to go_

_Oh, God, let me in_

_And let me go! go! go! go!_

Relena exploded at those last four repeated words. Her voice soared throughout Barge and, surprisingly, the crowd chanted it back at her. She cracked a smile up at Heero, almost as if asking him _'Did you see that?'_ And although he couldn't read her thoughts, he nodded in approval at the crowd reaction. _'Yeah, that was great.'_ Heero's inner voice said. They went for the chorus one last time.

_Dig me out, Dig me in_

_Out of this mess, baby, out of my head_

_Dig me out, Dig me in_

_Out of my body, Out of my skin_

Hilde killed her drums as Dorothy and Relena played out the riff together to close out the song, bringing 'Dig Me Out' to it's sudden end. Relena turned around as the crowd erupted. She gave quick glances to each of her bandmates, both of them looking back at her positively. Dorothy reached for a water bottle she had in front of Hilde's drumset, she took a sip and approached the woman with her back to the audience. "Very good, dear. I've got to thank you for saving this show."

Relena shook her head with a grin. "No," she pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Thank that guy up there."

'_Thank you, Heero, but I'm not done yet. So keep watching, because it'll only get better.'_

* * *

"Worth the wait, huh?" Trowa asked the rest of the men who clapped their approval.

"I'd say, though we all knew she was pretty good." Quatre nodded back at the bassist.

"She was good," Wufei concurred. "But it was still too long of a wait."

"Quit complaining," Duo piped in. "This is the first time they've played anything off this record in front of a crowd, and with a new member. Appreciate what you just saw." He turned to look at Heero. "What did you think? How ya' like Relena now?" Heero didn't respond, remaining leaned over, still looking towards the stage.

But Duo did notice something off about him. "Are… are you smiling?" Heero remained silent. "You are smiling. You creep."

Heero fought back the urge to smack his guitarist. Right now, it was about Relena and what she just accomplished. Nothing else mattered but what she was able to do in her first live performance. The crowd loved it, and so did he. He guessed they were a smart audience after all. _'Good job, Relena. You keep playing and I'll keep watching.' _

* * *

"You keep an eye on her, okay Trowa?" Quatre asked of the green eyed bass player.

"Excuse me," Dorothy huffed in annoyance. "When do you hear about me getting into trouble? Goodness, Quatre, you act as if my name is Duo."

"What do I do?" Duo didn't appreciate his name being brought up. They all stood out in front of a now empty Club Barge, the show having wrapped up a little over an hour and a half ago.

"Well I do get calls complaining that you forget to pay for drinks sometimes." Quatre reminded the braided musician.

"Yeah, I've seen it happen." Trowa nodded with a funny grin. "And you always try to tell them that Wufei said he would pay."

"I know," Duo smirked. "It never works, Wufei gets mad as hell and I end up running out of the club."

"I'm starting to think that's why you do it." the green eyed man chuckled.

"Maybe." a wink coming from Duo.

"And you tell Trowa to keep an eye on me?" Dorothy looked to Quatre, daring him to compare his antics to her.

Quatre shrugged. "Well you are a terrible flirt from what I hear."

"Quatre… really?" Dorothy said flatly with her hands on her hips.

"Just relaying what I've been told." Quatre replied, looking at the disappointed look in her eyes. He kind of regretted bringing it up now. It's not like she ever did anything past that anyway. He hated how bad he was when it came to talking to Dorothy.

"Don't you worry, Q." Duo slung an arm over Dorothy's shoulder, deepening her irritation. "We got you covered, I'll make sure Dots is on her best behavior." He looked down at the woman he had under his arm. Right now, only Heero could produce a scarier glare than what he was getting from the Catalonia girl. "I'll let you go, just say goodbye to the boss man, y'all won't be seeing much of each other for the next twelve weeks."

Dorothy gave one last look at Quatre and huffed as she tore herself away from Duo's grasp, trotting for her tour bus. "You've got your work cut out for you Q, see ya!" Duo spun on his heel, trying to catch up with the platinum blonde.

Trowa patted Quatre on the shoulder. "She'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know." Quatre sighed. "You guys take care."

Trowa started moving for bus, waving a goodbye over to Quatre as he departed. The bassist was pretty tired after tonight. He would find his place on the bus and start catching up on some sleep. He knew Wufei already got a head start on that.

"Hey, Dorothy!" Duo caught up with one third of the Jezebels.

"If it's about Quatre, don't even bother." she warned him.

"Nah, it ain't about him." Duo began walking beside her. "But if you need an ear…"

"Thanks, but you'd be the last person I go to."

"So mean…" Duo' slumped his shoulders. "Anyway, just wanted to ask if I can sleep in your bus tonight. I've never been on the road with my girl before so I-"

"Don't even bother finishing that sentence." Dorothy cut him off, not wanting any part of him on their bus.

"Oh c'mon!" Duo whined. "I promise we'll keep the bangin' at a minimum."

"God... " Dorothy rolled her eyes. "At least it wouldn't last very long."

"Hey, how do you know how long I can go?" Duo chuckled.

"I don't." Dorothy responded, getting agitated at the fact that she was even in this conversation with Duo. "Just a lucky guess."

"Alright," Duo continued to follow the other guitarist. "But seriously, let me have a few nights with you guys. Yeah, Hilde can be a bit of a screamer but-"

"Duo! Eww!" Dorothy covered her ears, moving a lot quicker on her feet now. "I don't want to hear that about my drummer!"

"Hear what?" Hilde asked, hearing the commotion as she stepped down from the bus.

"Oh nothin'! No one said nothin!" Duo nervously laughed, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Oh, he said something!" Dorothy exclaimed, getting closer to Hilde.

"What'd he say now?" Hilde's expression morphed into one of disappointment, knowing what kind of an idiot her boyfriend was.

"Dorothy, don't!" Duo begged the blonde.

Relena shook her head and smiled at the scene. She walked by them, wondering how they still had enough energy left. She felt spent after her first time on stage. It surprised her how much energy one could expend performing. Relena jokingly wondered if she was even in good enough shape to keep doing this.

It felt good to have her first time under her belt. For a second there, it almost looked like it wasn't going to happen. It would've been disastrous had she not gone on with the girls. Everything would have been for nothing and there would have been no reason for her to come in the first place.

She was grateful for Heero's help; she owed him big time. Her eyes were on him for most of the show, but there came a certain point towards the end where she did start to feel comfortable enough to look at the crowd. If there was anything she could do to pay Heero back for what he did for her tonight, she needed to find out what that was.

And to think, she began today hating him, and by the end of the night he became her savior.

Just reflecting on it was exhausting her. It didn't help that she was lugging around her Jaguar in its case. She needed to get it in one of the vans so that she could start resting up. The extra weight was slowing her down, though she figured it was only a hassle because she left so much of herself, mentally and physically, on Barge's stage.

She sighed and kept going, but all of a sudden the weight in the form of her guitar case disappeared. That's when she saw Heero walk past her with her guitar in his grasp. He snatched it from her, heading for the van to put it away on her behalf.

"H-Heero!" she called out to him. "I can do that myself, you know."

He looked back at her with a blank expression. "I don't doubt it." he deadpanned, marching for his destination. Relena sighed, watching as he put away her guitar. Having finished that up and closing the back of the vehicle, Heero walked back over to Relena who was now bundled up in her long overcoat. He looked down at her, keeping his hands hidden in his pockets, both of them just studying each other. Relena wondered how he could stand out here with just a sleeveless shirt on. It was kind of chilly out, and here he was, exposing his arms like it was the first day of spring. Not that she minded, he clearly kept himself in shape.

She was gonna say something to him, but Heero beat her to the punch. "You did good tonight."

Relena nodded. "It's all thanks to you."

Heero immediately denied that. "No, you always had it in you. I just helped a little, that's all."

'_That's all?' _she thought that sounded ridiculous. Between his apology and his idea for her performance, he was obviously the biggest reason for her success. "Yeah, you need to give yourself more credit than that."

He shook his head. "Nope." Relena groaned, but blessed him with a smirk anyway.

"Well, whatever makes you feel better." she replied. She looked up to stare at those precious Prussian orbs that helped her so much today. Being under his watch encouraged her to finish the night, and now his blue gaze started to change her cheeks red. It was weird how her reactions to him changed over the course of a few hours. When you don't hate someone anymore, its surprising how much things can seem different.

"Are… you gonna be okay going forward?" Heero asked, knowing that they got through tonight, but they still had a lot of shows to go.

"Hm," Relena thought about the future, knowing she still had a lot more experience to acquire. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I've completely gotten over my nervousness." Relena answered truthfully. "I don't think just one night is going to prepare me for every show we have coming up. So… I was thinking that…"

Heero could tell what was coming next and answered. "If you need me, I'll be there. Don't worry."

Relena gave him a wide smile, thankful that she could have his help again. She knew she was going to need it. "Thank you, Heero. I honestly don't know how I can pay you back for what you're doing for me."

"Don't bother, I want to do this for you." his baritone rumbled, causing Relena to quiver slightly at his choice of words.

"Alright then..." she tucked a strand of her golden locks behind her ear. "Well, how are you holding up?" Relena had a feeling that she just asked a silly question, but Heero kind of threw her off with his last reply.

He shrugged a shoulder. "I'm fine, it's what I do." he responded simply. Even though her exhaustion was clear to him, it did nothing to take away from her heavenly aura. There was that word again… Heaven… He recalled that riff he had been working on, trying to find a song to write around it. 'Heaven Hill' is what it was called, but it needed something else. He hoped he would get closer to finding something that would give him what he needed to complete this future Do You Remember? song.

"You okay, Heero?" He was losing himself thinking about what 'Heaven Hill' could become. Relena must've picked up on that, he figured.

"It's nothing, maybe I am getting a little tired." he told her.

"Makes sense," Relena released a chuckle. "It's almost one thirty in the morning. Even the almighty Heero must have a bedtime." Heero tossed her an eye roll, which only got another chuckle out of her. He would allow her a laugh at his expense, she earned it. "Well, I'll let you get some rest, lord knows I need it." Relena got herself ready to meet the other two Jezebel members, spinning on her heels. "Have a good night, Heero. And thanks again, I'll never forget what you did tonight."

"Hn." Heero nodded, wanting to say more to her… He watched her begin to walk away, her coat gliding along behind her. He bit his lip and decided that he needed to tell her one more thing. "Relena."

"Hm?" she turned around, looking at him quizzically. "Yes, Heero?"

"Um," Heero clenched his fists in his pockets, forcing the words out. He wasn't sure why it was so hard to say. "That day I blew up at you… at Peacemillion…" Heero began.

"Yes?" Relena wondered why he was bringing that up.

"You said… um, before I started talking stupid, you said you wanted to talk to me." Heero reminded her, feeling silly for not getting the words out a little better. "It was about my music, if I'm remembering correctly."

Relena remembered. Ever since hearing _Zen Arcade_… no, even before that, she wanted an opportunity to speak with him about his work. She had hoped to get the chance to do it that day, but obviously things didn't work out that way. "Yes, I do recall…"

"So, I was thinking…" Heero continued on, hoping to get a favorable response. "Since we'll be getting a lot of time with each other, that… whenever you want to talk about anything music related, or whatever… just let me know. I wouldn't mind hearing what you have to say."

Relena prefaced her response with the biggest smile she had given yet. Heero's heart smacked hard at the gorgeous image of a smiling Relena Peacecraft. "I think I would love that. I'll definitely take you up on that offer. Thank you, Heero… have a wonderful sleep!" From there, Relena took her leave. Heero did the same, pivoting his direction to his tour bus.

Grinning from ear to ear as he did so.

* * *

About a week and a half later, in some small record store somewhere, a man working behind the register watched as a woman hovered over the new releases section of the store. He saw her pick up a vinyl copy of _Zen Arcade_. They just started putting out physical copies of the album, and the shipment for _Zen Arcade _came in a couple of days ago.

"That's a really good record you have there!" He said to the woman, hoping he wasn't bothering her.

"Is that so?" the blonde wearing sunglasses smiled up at him. "Well it does look like an interesting album." She noted the eye catching cover, with its washed out colors over a distorted look of a junkyard, the silhouettes of four people also in view.

"Yeah, it's the best thing I heard in a pretty long time." the man behind the register responded enthusiastically. "Between that and _Dig Me Out_, I can't say for sure which I like better. I'm leaning _Zen Arcade_ but I don't know, maybe I'll change my pick again."

"Really?" the woman held back a laugh, finding his response humorous. "Well, in that case, I think I'll take this record." The woman grabbed a copy of _Zen Arcade _and brought it up to the counter.

The man took the album and began cashing her out. "Have you ever listened to anything by these guys?" the obvious music nerd working the register asked.

The woman looked downward, reaching for her wallet to pull out her credit card, handing it over to him. "I may have heard a song or two."

He swiped her card, watching as the blonde removed her glasses. She was a really pretty girl, but he would keep that to himself, obviously. He handed back her card and asked for her signature. The woman signed the small slip of paper, handing it back to him. She took her copy of _Zen Arcade_, gave the man a wink and headed for the door. "Have a good day." were her final words, leaving the man with a blush on his cheeks.

"She was cute…" the man said to himself. "But… I feel like I've seen her before. Man, I'm bad with faces." he looked down at the signed slip. It was there that his eyes widened a bit.

Because if he was reading this correctly, and signatures aren't the easiest to read, then Sylvia Noventa of the Jezebels just bought something from this store.

* * *

**AN:**** It's 2020 and Gundam Wing will be turning 25 years old. Wow... kinda crazy to think about. That means I've been loving this series for 20 years. I'm washed up lol Anyway, I'll kick off the new year by thanking everyone for reading this. It surprises me that there are people even bothering with this fic, to be honest. I went into this story thinking 'Hmm... what would 15 year old me like to read?' and the answer I came up with was that mid-teens ViciousBluesummers would have killed for a GW, AU, 1xR story that somehow worked in the music I was discovering at the time. And so, that was how 'Love On The Expressway To Yr Skull' was born. The story is so specific to me that it shocks me people even kinda like it. I thought I would be writing this for myself and that's it lol Which didn't bother me because I knew I would be having a blast writing it. I ****hope you all have half as much fun reading it as I am writing it. **

**Originally, I intended this story to be short, but that's now changed a bit. Which is fine, because I'm in no hurry to finish it. Because once I'm done with this story and my other one ('How Soon Is Now?'), there's a 50/50 chance that I may not write anymore after completing them, and I'll just revert back to my old reviewer/lurker ways again. **

**Anyway, I'll shut up now! I hope your 2020 is better than your 2019! Love you all! Los amo a todos!**

**Sleater-Kinney - "Dig Me Out" **

**Sleater-Kinney - "Words and Guitar"**


	10. Chapter 10

**Track 10: Rhythm Emotion**

"Man, I'm hungry, I need to go somewhere." Duo mentioned, rubbing his stomach. He looked down at his girlfriend who had taken up residence under his arm. "What about you, tryin' to eat?"

Hilde looked up at him. "Not really, but I'll accompany you. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know." Duo's eyes scanned his surroundings. "I forget what they have in this town." He looked at his other companions, all of them loitering around in front of the club they would be playing later that night. "What about you guys? What're y'all gonna do? I need some lunch."

"You need lunch because you skipped out on breakfast when we hit up that rest stop earlier, dummy." Wufei reminded him.

"My appetite needs time to build after I wake up." Duo responded in his defense.

"Maybe you should just start forcing yourself to eat in the morning." Hilde suggested. "That way you won't be the only one starving around a quarter to twelve. You always do this."

"Like I said, I don't wanna eat anything when I get up." Duo tightened his hold on the short haired drummer. "And we don't have anything in the fridge that comes with this bus like you ladies do."

"Then why don't any of you boys actually go out and buy food instead of relying on gas station burritos and breakfast sandwiches? That's what the fridge is for." Dorothy jumped in, disgusted by her tourmates' eating habits. "It still surprises me that you guys are even in shape."

"Ain't got no time for that, Dots." Duo shook his head. "We gotta be around and help set up with Rashid and the rest of the crew. Hard to fit grocery shopping in."

Trowa nodded. "He's got a point there."

"So why not let the Maganacs take care of everything?" Dorothy asked them. "It's what they get paid to do, you know."

"It's a lot faster when we help," Trowa pointed out. "And not only that, It's what we've always done."

"Sure, but you don't always have to do it." Dorothy looked over at the vans that held all of their equipment. "How else do you expect to get a little more free time before a gig?"

"We all use that equipment." Trowa explained. "We're just as responsible for it as they are, even more so in the case of our instruments."

"How admirable." Dorothy smirked. "You men hold on tightly to those punk rock ethics, don't you?"

"It's our way of life, woman." Wufei spoke, returning to the conversation. "Someone with your upbringing would never understand."

"Ah, yes." Dorothy hummed, allowing her grin to spread. "You mean much like you don't understand the opposite sex?"

"You guys are too much trouble." Wufei released a grunt. "That's why I choose to remain single."

"Really?" Dorothy narrowed her eyes mischievously at the chinese drummer. Wufei should've never answered. "Now, are you sure you made that choice, or did every woman you've ever met make it for you?" Wufei glowered at the blonde, causing her grin to widen even more.

"Well, you see Dorothy, that's why Wufei is so good at what he does." Duo chimed in, not wanting to miss an opportunity to take a shot at Wufei. "He releases all of his sexual frustrations out on his drums and gets a great sound out of it, so he's proof that there's a benefit to being lonely and not getting any."

"Oh, that does make sense." Dorothy nodded, a finger placed at her chin. "So, that's your secret, Mr. Chang? Forced celibacy?"

"You, shut up.' Wufei pointed an aggravated finger at the blonde, before focusing his attention at his bandmate. "And you, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Hilde, help!" Duo held the smaller woman in front of him, turning her into a human shield as Wufei approached. Hilde's elbow struck into Duo's side. "Oof! Damn, babe, you're supposed to be defending me!"

"What you said was mean, Duo." Hilde reprimanded. "I should let him beat you up."

"That's all I need to hear." Wufei smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"But I won't." Hilde looked back at the other drummer. "I'll make him apologize, Wufei."

"I don't want his apology." Wufei firmly stated. "I want to beat him up!"

"And I wasn't gonna apologize anyway!" Duo proclaimed, still hiding behind his girlfriend.

"Duo, shut up." Hilde's annoyance with her significant other was rising. "It's that mouth of yours that's always getting you into trouble." She was beginning to wonder how these two could be in the same band together. Duo always enjoyed getting on Wufei's nerves.

"Out of the way, Hilde!" Wufei growled, still trying to get at Duo.

"Just ignore him, Wufei." Hilde sighed, using her smaller frame to protect her moronic boyfriend. "Be the bigger man and leave this idiot alone."

"Yeah, leave me alone." Duo repeated behind his protector. "You know what 'alone' means, right? It's what you are all the time."

"Duo!" Hilde shouted at him over her shoulder.

"That's it!" Wufei swung an arm over Hilde, trying to grab at the braided guitarists' throat.

"Whoa!" Duo exclaimed, barely avoiding Wufei's grasp.

"Did I start this?" Dorothy watched the scene, the grin having never left her face.

"Probably." Trowa slowly nodded. "You should know by now that Duo can't help himself around Wufei."

"Oh, you know how forgetful I can be." Dorothy tossed the bass player a devilish look.

"Right…" Trowa gave the woman a dubious glance. He looked back at the commotion the two men were causing, watching as Hilde struggled to keep the two of them apart. He figured now was the best time to kill all off this. "Alright, guys, what're we doing? We don't have much time to waste before we have to get things started."

Duo ducked another strike from Wufei, this time pulling Hilde and himself away from the angry drummer. "Okay, okay, I'm done! Look, I'm just tryin' to eat, and Hilde's rollin' with me." Hilde laid a hard smack on Duo's shoulder before shoving him away, forcing him to find a place to feed himself instead of being a moron.

Wufei was thinking about continuing his pursuit for Duo's head, but began to tire of the games. He needed to learn to stop letting Duo get the best of him all the time. "To hell with this," Wufei spoke, trying to calm himself down. "I'm just gonna take a walk." He threw his hands in his pockets and turned to go down the opposite direction. "You guys better not be late." he added, leaving the group.

Trowa sighed, glad that was all over. "Well, now that that's settled, I guess I'll g-"

"You're coming with me!" Dorothy hooked her arm with Trowa's, batting her eyes at him. "I actually need to do some shopping and I need your company."

"You 'need' my company?" Trowa looked down at the woman questioningly, not knowing why she would need him to go shopping with her.

"Yes."

"Why?" Trowa arched a brow.

"For two reasons." Dorothy began, slowly taking some steps forward as she pulled the green eyed man alongside her. "One, I need to talk to you about a couple things." Trowa had a feeling he knew what one of those things were. "And two, I could use some eye candy while I handle my business." Dorothy added a wink to that last statement.

Trowa smiled, but shook his head. "Remember what Quatre said about you being a terrible flirt and you got mad at him?"

Dorothy frowned. "It doesn't count with you."

This got a chuckle out of Trowa, unsure why it wouldn't 'count' with him. "Anyway, I know what one of those things you want to talk to me about is," he mentioned, knowing that it was definitely Quatre related. "but what's the other?"

"Well, It's that…" Dorothy pointed at the last two that were left of their crew.

Relena and Heero were in their own world, and did not pay any attention to the rest of the group the entire time they were there. The two had been off to the side, Relena sat on the steps of her tour bus while Heero leaned a shoulder by the door, both of them just conversing while everyone else was making noise.

Dorothy wasn't dumb, she noticed that the two were getting along a lot better now. It was after the first show at Barge two weeks ago when she noticed a change in their behaviors towards one another. It made sense, Dorothy noted, as Heero did help her with her stage fright, but she wasn't expecting this. It was like every time Relena wasn't with her or Hilde, she was found chatting it up with Heero. Dorothy found it… amusing, and because of who Dorothy was, she began to wonder if this was going to lead anywhere interesting.

Trowa watched the pair, understanding what was catching Dorothy's attention. "You know, as surprising as this development has been, I'm not one to gossip, Dorothy." he told the woman attached to him. "Let them be."

"Oh, I'll let them be…" she replied, keeping her gaze on the duo. "For now, anyway. So, until I decide to get nosy and bother them, I figure I might as well find someone to talk to about it."

"Lucky me." a lighthearted smile graced Trowa's face as he sighed.

"Hey, you two!" Dorothy called out, bringing Heero and Relena back into their reality.

Both of them looked over, finally acknowledging someone other than each other. Relena stood from her spot on the bus steps. "Oh, um, so what's going on?" She looked around wondering where everyone else had gone, and why Dorothy and Trowa were literally linked together.

"Well, if you two had been paying attention, then you guys would've seen Wufei trying to kill Duo before all of them took off." Relena blinked at Dorothy's response before looking up at Heero.

"How did we miss that?" she asked the frontman.

"I noticed, I just didn't care." He'd seen them act up before and he lost interest in their bickering a long time ago.

"Alright, well now that you're all caught up, Trowa and I will be doing some shopping." Dorothy informed the two. "What will the both of you be up to?"

Heero looked around, remembering the area well enough after having played in this town a couple times before."There's a record store about two blocks away. I'm thinking of stopping by."

"I see." Dorothy looked over at Relena. "And you, dear?"

"Well, there's nothing I want to do specifically, and I don't know this place very well, so…" Relena returned her vision to Heero. "Mind if I go with you?" Heero shrugged as he spun on his heel, heading towards the direction of the record store he mentioned. Relena followed beside him as both pairings took off on their own paths.

She thought she heard Dorothy snickering at them, but chose to ignore it.

* * *

Making their way down the sidewalk, on the road to the record store, Relena gave her companion a glance out of the corner of her eye. It still surprised her how well the two of them had been getting along. From where they started, to where they were now was quite a turnaround. Heero had been nothing but nice to her ever since he helped her along on that first night and, true to his word, when she needed him he was there.

At every show they played since Barge, no matter the venue, Heero always put himself in position to be seen by Relena. She still needed his help to get through their sets, and Heero never complained. She would apologize for continuing to ask for his assistance every time they were supposed to go on, but Heero would always wave it off, simply telling her to go out there and find him.

She could feel herself slowly start to improve, too. As these two weeks of shows had progressed, Relena found herself able to look at the crowd earlier and earlier into their sets. Her comfort level was rising and this made the new addition to the female-led band happy. Relena was glad that Heero was there to give her the courage to continue on. She could go on playing music and never have to worry about disappointing her bandmates ever again.

Relena looked up and saw a store she figured was the one Heero was talking about. It was a place called Left Of The Dial which looked like it had been around for a while, especially with a name like that. Heero led the way and pushed open the door, allowing Relena to enter first. The two walked in and Heero noticed the two guys working there were giving him funny looks, Relena catching this as well. Heero knew that if there were any places where someone like him could be recognized, it would be in a record store.

Thankfully, neither of these men approached the two of them. They were clearly nice enough to just let them browse in peace. "I get the feeling they want to go up to you." Relena muttered over to him, walking down one of the ailes. She was a little relieved that she was still new to her band, otherwise she would get the same looks that he was receiving.

Relena was probably right, Heero thought, eyes scanning over the shelves filled with records. Heero was never comfortable being approached by people who knew him. It always freaked him out whenever it did happen and he never knew what to say. He was sure that the fans 'lucky' enough to meet him went away with the impression that he was just a weirdo, or maybe even an asshole. Well, that certainly did happen with the woman who followed him here during their first encounters.

And look at them now, browsing through a record store as, well... friends.

As he watched her go through the shelves, he thought about how things had changed. He originally wanted nothing to do with her, knowing that she would be the one having to sing the _other girl's _songs. It really was stupid that he held that over her head. Of course, the first night at Barge really helped them finally work things out. He helped her work through her nervousness on stage and, like he offered, they have since had numerous conversations relating to music and their relationship to it.

They spoke about their guitars, influences and all kinds of music related topics. He learned that her initial interest in this stuff started when she was young, and her older brother passed down a lot of his albums to her. He had heard that before, that younger siblings were usually interested in the stuff that their older brothers or sisters were into; that seemed to be the case with Relena and her brother, Milliardo.

She was very easy to talk to, enjoying their conversations a lot more than he thought he would. He would actually admit that he kind of looked forward to their talks. Learning more about Relena had been one of the more interesting things about this tour so far; it was also interesting to see someone new to this learn as she went along. He remembered telling Relena, to help boost her growing confidence, that she was doing something truly impressive. Her first shows were in front of hundreds of people, and when they reached the larger venues, it would be to a couple thousand. Heero told her of his first show and being a little nervous himself, and he only played to about fifteen people in some abandoned warehouse, half of those in attendance he already knew. He wanted her to go on that stage with every bit of confidence he could give her. The rest was up to her, and she had been doing great so far.

He was… proud of her. It was a strange feeling, Heero thought, watching as she went through different albums. Heero recognized the names she picked out like _Floodland_, _Out of Step_, _Repeater_, _Psychocandy_, _Little Earthquakes_, and _Night Time_, but it was the album _Evol _that she took with her that made him curious.

"You don't own that already?" Heero commented as he looked through the shelves himself. That album contained 'Starpower', the song that was always played by Dorothy at their shows.

"Believe it or not, I don't." she replied, eyes still searching around. "It's one of Dorothy's favorites, not mine."

Heero's fingers glided up and down the the plastic covered LPs, doing some searching of his own. "Don't like it as much as she does?"

"I like it a lot actually." Relena replied, quickly looking through the tracklist. "I mean 'Shadow of a Doubt' is good, obviously 'Starpower', 'Secret Girl' is cool and even 'Expressway To Yr. Skull', which I think I like more for that title than the actual song." she chuckled. "But for some reason I don't own it, so I'll fix that today."

Heero progressed through the aisles behind Relena, looking for something that might catch his eye. He probably shouldn't spend so much money on records this time, he thought. He remembered telling Relena that he almost couldn't make rent a few times because he spent so much on music. That had gotten a chuckle out of her, and she joking teased that he was being irresponsible with his money. It was definitely a better response than what Sylvia gave him, chastising him for being a reckless spender, which he was when it came to this.

Relena turned to watch as he pulled out a record she knew very well. She watched him carefully analyze the album, front and back. It was the album that he had given the most attention to so far. "You like that one?" she asked, wondering what his response would be.

"Hn." Heero nodded, still focusing on the item currently in his possession.

"It's good that you do," Relena gave him a smile as he held _Juju_, the name of that particular 12". "Because my favorite song of all time is on that album."

Heero shifted his vision towards her, narrowing his eyes at her. "Really?"

"Uh, well yeah." Relena shrugged, wondering why Heero was looking at her like that all of a sudden. Did she say something wrong? "Is that… an issue?"

Heero was quick to shake his head. "No…" he placed the album back on the shelf, still surprised about what she said about her favorite song of all time.

"Okay…" Relena raised a brow at his weird reaction. "Do you already own _Juju_?"

Heero sighed, turning his head over to her. "Yeah, I do…" Heero confirmed with a slight head nod. "Why wouldn't I own the record that also has my favorite song of all time on it?"

"What, no way!" Relena was sure he was playing with him, the skepticism clear as day on her face. "You're lying." Heero shook his head again, and Relena had no reason to not believe him. Heero wasn't the type to joke around, at least not like this anyway, not with that serious expression. "Wow… well, that's quite the coincidence…" Relena looked away, continuing to see if there was anything else she would consider buying. "Okay, so now you have to tell me."

"What?"

"Which is your favorite song, of course." she continued browsing, curious to hear what his response would be. "Apparently our two favorite songs of all time are both off the same album. So obviously you have to tell me which one is your favorite."

Heero guessed that made sense. It did shock him a bit to learn that _Juju _was important to both of them. Now he just wondered what track she would call her all time favorite in the history of music. "For me, it's 'Spellbound', what about you?" he was taken aback when Relena looked at him as if he had just told her the craziest thing she had ever heard. "What?"

Relena blinked a few times before she recovered enough to respond to him. "Okay… if you're being honest with me, and I have no reason to suspect that you're not, then…" Relena had to hold back a laugh. "Not only is both our favorite songs ever off the same record but... it's the exact same track. Are you sure you're telling me the truth? This is, like, almost too much of a coincidence"

Heero could only shake his head. She was right, this was too much of a coincidence. He was speechless, not believing that they both shared the exact same choice for the greatest track of all time. They both just stared at each other, unsure of what to do with this revelation. As much as he tried to fight it, memories of Sylvia came back. He remembered her not being much of a fan of that song or even the band itself. She didn't care for their aesthetic or their sound, always telling him that there were groups that did it better. Heero disagreed, of course, but… he didn't have to worry about that here.

Relena took her copy of _Evol_, covering her mouth with it, blocking Heero's view of her growing smile. "Well then," she began, finding his surprised facial expression to be cute. "I knew you had good taste." she went back to scan the shelves filled with music, moving along as Heero followed behind her, allowing Relena to take the lead. He really did like finding ways of surprising her, Relena thought to herself.

As the two progressed, they found themselves getting into a conversation about what they loved most about the song, mentioning things about the guitar work, the drums and the lead singer's booming, feminine voice. He never got in depth with someone over his favorite song of all time. He was having fun being a fan with Relena, never being this much in love with a song with someone else before. Not even with someone in his own band, or even Sylvia...

They couldn't compliment the track enough and it was then that an idea popped up into Heero's head. He would bring it up to her later, as she would be the most important person when it came to this thing he had in mind.

But right now, he had to figure out why Relena was in the international music section, and specifically why she was looking through all of this J-Pop.

"You listen to this stuff?" Heero remarked, looking at things that were out of the realm of his understanding.

Relena turned to look at him incredulously. "You don't?"

Heero raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you look at me and assume that I would be into that?"

"Uh, Heero, no." Relena didn't care for the implication that she had only said that because he was Japanese, but she had a feeling that he was kidding. That was confirmed when she saw a slight turn at the corners of his lips. "I just figured that someone as musically open minded as you would know something about this." Heero looked on as she searched through piles of records that he didn't know much about.

"Sorry to disappoint." Heero deadpanned, shrugging a shoulder at her.

"It's okay." Relena chuckled. "Not everyone has to be into everything. Just out of curiosity, why don't you like this stuff?"

Heero thought about it for a second, thinking back to whenever he was exposed to that kind of music. "Hm… I guess it's that super glossy production mixed with all that rapid fire noise. I don't know, just doesn't click."

Relena thought it was funny that someone who was into punk rock had a hard time with 'rapid fire noise'. "I see. Maybe you just haven't found the right song or album."

"Maybe." Heero flatly stated, unsure that he would ever find anything that would get him into it.

"I think someone like you would appreciate something older." Relena remarked, looking through the mountains of CDs that were stacked up.

"What makes you say that?" Heero asked as he watched her. She looked like she was searching for something specific.

"I don't know," Relena continued to look, hoping that they had what she was looking for. "I just get the feeling that you would appreciate something a little less modern." Relena commented. "C'mon... Hm… here!" Relena pulled out a CD case. "This I think you'll like." Relena handed it over to him. Heero accepted it, giving her a skeptical glance. He took it and analyzed what appeared to be a four song EP.

"You think I'll like this?" Heero waved the item question.

"No," Relena shook her head with a smirk. "I think you'll love it." Heero wasn't sure about that. Old or not, he didn't think Relena could find the magical recording that would get him into his people's pop music. Relena could see the doubtful look on his face and rolled her eyes. "Look, I'll buy it for you. I guarantee that you'll love it."

Releasing a heavy sigh, Heero looked at the CD in his hand. He turned it around to look at the short tracklist. It was just four songs.

1\. 'Just Communication'

2\. 'Rhythm Emotion'

3\. 'White Reflection'

4\. 'Last Impression'

These guys really liked their two worded titles, Heero noted. He handed it back to her. "It's your money, do what you want." He'd have to remember to pay her back when he was done listening to it. He would feel a little sorry to disappoint her again.

Relena nodded, smirk still plastered on her face. "Heero, you'll thank me later."

* * *

**AN:**** As usual, thank you for stopping by. Love u!**

**And to that guest review from the last chapter, I'm glad you got something out of reading this silly little story of mine after having such a crappy year. I had no idea this thing I'm writing could do that for anyone. I hope this year turns out much better for you!**

**Two-Mix - "Rhythm Emotion" (Now, you guys can can correct me if i'm wrong, but I think I just referenced the one song I'm sure everyone reading this has heard. I don't know, you tell me.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Track 11: Pretty Girls Make Graves**

"Hey!" Duo looked at the woman walking beside him as he pushed a stack of speakers. "How 'bout giving us hand setting up? It's for you guys, anyway."

"Sorry, Duo." Dorothy smiled as she began to part ways with the braided musician, heading towards another direction. "I really would, but I think I left my steel-toed heels at home."

"That's cool..." Duo replied, huffing and puffing as he continued to push. "Most of us are wearing sneakers, so you're good." Dorothy didn't reply and Duo released an exhausted sigh. "Sometimes I envy women, I tell ya'. Ain't gotta do nothin'."

"Will you shut up and keep pushing?" Wufei snapped at him, pulling along from the other side of the stack.

"Yeah, yeah…" Duo grumbled, pressing a hard shoulder into his side of the speakers.

The sound of Dorothy's footsteps ceased as she landed at her destination. She took her spot at the table, joining her other two bandmates. They sat in the middle of the currently empty concert venue, waiting for the guys to finish setting up their equipment. Relena was hoping they could continue working on the songs she had written with them, planning on performing these new tracks sometime during this tour. There were still some songs that she had yet to find lyrics for, and there was one in particular that she really wanted to put words to. Relena just hadn't found the inspiration for it, yet. She crossed her fingers that that would change soon, as she desperately wanted it to become a fully formed track before the end of this road trip.

"You know, I always feel a little bad that we never help them." Relena commented as she watched the men set up their lighting and the rest of their equipment. "Especially since it's our stuff they're putting up."

"I don't." Dorothy scrolled through her phone, much more interested in her device then what was happening on the stage that the three of them would be performing on later. "Remember, they choose to do this, the four of them don't have to." Dorothy reminded her. "And besides, you know they wouldn't let us help even if we wanted to." She then looked over at her drummer. "Well, except for maybe your beloved. I can definitely see him making us connect all of our lighting." He did just ask her to help, after all.

Hilde smiled at Dorothy's words. "Wouldn't be the first time if he did ask me to help. I don't mind, really." Hilde actually appreciated whenever Duo asked her to help him out with anything, because she learned how to do things herself and not completely rely on Duo all the time. That's how it worked with them at home. If Duo wasn't around and something needed to get done, then she'd figure it out herself. Although, she would also admit that knowing her boyfriend like she did, he also probably wanted her to be more self reliant so he didn't have to do everything and have a little more time to laze around.

"You're more than welcome to help, Hilde." Dorothy replied. "Personally, I don't feel like I need 'roadie' on my resume."

"I'll pass this time." Hilde said, stretching in her seat, getting herself a little more comfortable.

"Does Quatre ever help?" Relena asked, returning her gaze to Dorothy. "I know he's incredibly close to Rashid and everybody."

"He does try to help, and it's the most annoying thing in the world." Dorothy huffed. "He has no business trying to act like a roadie and he's going to hurt himself one of these days. He never listens!" He ran their record label, there was no reason he had to get his hands dirty, Dorothy thought. There was no need for Quatre to risk injury by falling off a ladder, or whatever.

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Relena reassured her with a knowing look.

"I'm not so sure…" an agitated Dorothy responded.

"Oh, Dorothy…" Relena began. "When are you going to settle down with that nice Arab boy?" Relena and Hilde both laughed when they saw Dorothy cringe at the funny question.

"Oh, shut up!" Dorothy did not appreciate the laughter.

"What?" Relena teased. "Did I sound too much like your mother?"

"Ha!" Dorothy scoffed. "Those words would never leave that old fashioned hag's mouth."

"It's still like that, huh?" Relena wasn't surprised to hear that, knowing what Dorothy had told her about her family.

"Absolutely." Dorothy answered. "I've disappointed my family all my life, and being romantically involved with Quatre would kill them. Not that I care, of course. They can work themselves into a frenzy until they drop dead in their graves."

"Then why do you and Quatre try to act like nothing's going on?" Relena needed some clarity on this, as she never got any straight answers from Dorothy about the head of their label.

"Ugh, I really hate talking about this…" Dorothy groaned, dropping her phone on the table and leaning back on her chair.

"I wanna know, too." Hilde interjected. "You two are weird."

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "You know, the answer to your question, Relena, is actually quite simple. I'm surprised neither of you have figured it out."

"What do you mean?" a confused Hilde asked. Relena was equally befuddled, wondering what was so simple about her friend's odd relationship with Mr. Winner.

"Can't believe I have to get into this…" Dorothy grumbled. The answer was so obvious, too, and that's what bothered her. "Well, if you really can't figure it out, then I'll tell you. We act '_weird_'..." Dorothy gave Hilde a sharp look after using her words. "Because he's our boss, basically. Do you guys know how complicated things would be if everyone knew I was sleeping with my boss?"

"Oh… I see." Relena sometimes forgot that there were more than two bands on their record label because of how close Do You Remember? and The Jezebels were. She was sure there were enough people outside of their circle that had some idea of the nature of Dorothy and Quatre's relationship, but no one ever said anything… yet. "So, then, what are you guys going to do?"

"So you really are screwing Quatre?" Hilde bluntly added a question of her own.

Dorothy ignored the second question and kept her attention on Relena's. "I have no idea, to be honest." she sighed, slightly hanging her head as she gave her phone a quick look after hearing it go off. Relena wondered if it was the man in question was reaching out to her. She felt bad for friend. Relena wasn't used to seeing the otherwise dauntless Dorothy Catalonia seem so unsure about something. "I don't like the idea of sneaking around as if I were cheating on someone, but I really don't have much of a choice. I refuse to let Quatre tarnish his reputation simply because he has bad taste in women."

That was a rare moment of vulnerability, a surprised Relena thought. She was about to say something but Dorothy spoke first. "Anyway, my love life isn't fun to talk about, at all." Dorothy decided now was the best time for a subject change, specifically one that had been catching her interest lately; it involved the woman who played guitar beside her on stage. "What we really need to talk about is what's going on between you and Heero."

"What do you mean what's going on between me and Heero?" Relena didn't like the mischievous gleam radiating from Dorothy's eyes. "There's nothing going on."

"Relena, please." a smirking Dorothy pressed. "I never treat you like an idiot, so I ask that you do the same for me."

"I'm not treating you like an idiot." Relena defended. "All I said was that you're wrong in thinking there's something happening with Heero and I."

"I don't know, doesn't look that way to me." Hilde interjected, falling more in line with Dorothy's thinking.

Relena gave the drummer a frown. "Not you, too, Hilde."

"Sorry, Lena," Hilde gave her an apologetic smile, using the nickname she had grown accustomed to using since becoming friends and bandmates. "But we all see it. Ever since the first show, you guys seem to have gotten really close." Dorothy nodded in agreement.

Relena's eyes moved back and forth between her two friends. "How do you figure that?" she huffed.

"Relena, ever since we've hit the road, the two of you are always together talking about who knows what. You spend just as much time with Heero as you do with us." Dorothy pointed out. "Just what do you guys talk about, anyway? You two planning to elope while on tour? I wouldn't advise that, you guys just became friends."

"Oh, please." Relena shook her head. The two of them appeared to have gotten the wrong impression about her new found friendship with the frontman. "Our conversations are almost exclusively music related, so don't waste your time thinking it's anything other than that."

"Oh c'mon, it can't always be about music." Hilde said, believing there had to be more to it than that.

"Well sure, we may have gotten to know each other a little better, but it's nothing like what you guys are thinking of."

Dorothy smiled, leaning in closer over the table and propping her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her palm. "Okay, so when do you think your talks will evolve into something resembling what we're thinking of?"

"Dorothy, stop."

"Is it really such a bad thing?" Dorothy continued to prod. "I mean he's hot, you're beautiful," Dorothy chuckled as Relena gave a hard eye roll at that last comment. "And you're both musicians that love music so you two have that in common as well. Why not go for it? It's not like he's holding Sylvia over your head anymore."

Relena wondered about that. He told her that he would work on getting over the former Jezebels frontwoman, and he never really brought her up, so maybe he really was past that part of his life. Then again, it's not like it should matter to her, right? All that should matter to her, Relena thought, was that the two of them could be good friends and that's it.

But, if he really was over Sylvia, and they were both single, and, as Dorothy pointed out, already had a lot in common… to the point of sharing the same favorite song of all time… Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try? Relena wasn't sure. Right now, she wasn't thinking about jumping into a relationship. Having a successful first tour was what mattered to her the most at the moment. Perhaps, when this thing was all over, she could think about something like that with Heero, but not now.

"And we see how he looks at you, Relena. Heero totally has a thing for you." Hilde sliced into Relena's thoughts.

"Very true," Dorothy hummed with a nod of her head. "I haven't seen him look at woman like that since, well, the other blonde guitarist that used to be the center of his attention."

"I haven't noticed any 'looks'." Relena sighed, getting tired of the silly comments being thrown her way about Heero. "You guys are just seeing things." It was funny that the man that once angrily told her to go to hell was now the person she was being romantically linked with. At least it was someone who Relena would admit she felt comfortable with. If they were going to continue to gossip about her, then this kinder version of Heero she had been experiencing since the first night of the tour wasn't so bad of an association.

"If you say so, dear." Dorothy chuckled. She shifted her vision past Relena and her grin began to spread when she noticed a person of interest making his way towards them. She leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms as she watched Heero approach.

"Hey." Heero said, looking down at Relena as he took a spot beside her.

"Oh, Heero!" Relena stared up in surprise. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if I could talk to you later when we're done here. There's something I want to discuss with you."

"Yeah sure, I-" Relena stopped herself when she heard some snickering coming from her two companions sitting at the table. She noticed them trying to act normal, but she could see them clearly trying their hardest to keep their amused grins at bay. Relena would ignore the childish behavior and give her attention back to Heero. "Anyway, yeah, whenever you're free, let me know." she finished her response with a smile.

Heero nodded. He was about to turn and leave until Dorothy called out to him. "Hello, Heero. How are we today?" she asked him. Heero considered responding, but then caught the same thing Relena did before she finished answering him. The two of them gave off a mischievous aura and Heero wanted no part of this. So, without another word, he showed them his back and walked away, ignoring the chuckles that the two women released.

"Will you guys cut it out." Relena sighed. She hoped Heero didn't think she was in on it.

"Sorry." Dorothy shrugged. "For what it's worth, Relena, you two look good together, honestly."

"Whatever." Relena turned around, her eyes following Heero as he returned to the crew.

"And I will say," The platinum blonde started again, her vision following her friend's. "Have you ever seen a green muscle shirt, ripped jeans and work boots look that good before?"

Relena groaned at the comment and chose not to respond… but not because she didn't agree. The man was gorgeous, there was absolutely no denying that.

"You should see that in bicycle shorts." Dorothy snickered.

Relena whipped her head to match stares with Dorothy. "In what?"

* * *

Heero wandered outside of the club. They finished setting up for the girls to do their soundcheck and whatever else they needed to do. He remembered hearing them play some unfamiliar material before whenever they finished setting up for them. He wondered when they would debut this new noise. Relena had told him that she planned on sneaking in this new material sometime during this tour, she just wanted to wait until she was one hundred percent confident in the sound.

Heero would tell her that she didn't need to take a perfectionist approach to playing new songs at a live performance. After all, it's not like they were recording it. He advised her to think of the stage as a place where she can workshop her new songs. Not everyone needed to take the _Zen Arcade_ approach and keep the whole project a secret. He just wanted to try something different for his latest release. _New Day Rising _wouldn't have that level of secrecy behind it next time around. Hell, he thought about playing some new stuff on this tour as well.

Maybe he could play some stuff of his for Relena, Heero thought to himself. He began kicking around that idea in his head. She was a songwriter just like he was, so maybe he could gain something from hearing her perspective on his new songs. For whatever reason, her opinion started to matter more to him. Even more than the opinions of his own bandmates. Some of that probably had to do with the fact that Do You Remember? was Heero's band and his band alone. Every now and then he would hear what the rest of his boys had to say, but ultimately everything came down to him and he would decide what was right for his band.

Do You Remember? was not a democracy, and everyone involved with him knew that.

But still, if Relena had something to say… he would listen. Why he chose to treat her differently than his own bandmates, he couldn't say. He just had a feeling that Relena was becoming important to him. And boy, was that a weird thing to admit to himself.

"Heero." He heard her voice and spun his head to see her head straight for him. "Sorry if I kept you waiting. I needed to go over some things with Dorothy and Hilde."

"It's fine." Heero shuffled over to take a spot on the venue's wall. "How're the new songs coming along?" he asked.

"They're progressing." Relena replied, standing before him. "I'm might try a couple of them in a different key, but, if I don't like it then I'll just make it work with how I originally drew it up."

"Keep in mind," Heero started. "The stage isn't a recording studio. Just play what you have and the sound you're looking for will come to you."

"I know, you're right." Relena replied with a nod. "That's actually what I was talking to Dorothy and Hilde about before I came out here. I think I'm getting to the point where I'm going to play some new stuff sooner rather than later." her view shifted upward, looking at the two names the club was advertising for tonight. It made her feel great to know she was a part of one of those bands, but she knew that she needed to start playing her own material before she would truly feel like this band was her's.

Heero slipped his hands into his pockets, watching as people moved and went about their business. "Good, because from what I've heard, these new songs of yours sound pretty interesting. I'd like to hear more."

"Thanks." Relena smiled. "That means a whole lot coming from you."

"Hn." Heero wasn't sure how to respond. Hearing her say that gave him a strange feeling that he had been experiencing ever since they both started getting along. If he was being truthful, then these feelings reminded him of the times he would hang out with _her _at the beginning of their relationship. And that just freaked Heero out.

It didn't help that he spent a lot of time just staring at her. Not just here, but during their shows. He had gotten a lot more of Relena then he thought he would be getting when he joined this tour with her.

"What about your new stuff?" Relena asked. "Plan on sneaking it in tonight?"

Heero shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Just isn't the time, but it'll happen." Heero remarked, eyes continuing to study the woman in front of him.

"Have you figured out what to do with that riff you really like?" Relena had talked to him about 'Heaven Hill'. Heero told her he was quite obsessed with making that into something special.

"I've written some stuff, but I'm never happy with it." Heero grunted, frustrated that he still hadn't found the right words to pair with the sounds. In terms of the actual music, he knew exactly how it would play out. That was the easy part. The lyrics just weren't there with this one, yet, and it was starting to annoy him.

"Hm," Relena folded her hands behind her and took to leaning on the wall beside the frustrated musician. "You know, I'm kind of running into the same problem with one of my songs, actually." Heero side glanced at the woman next to him. "I'll write something down, read it to myself, shake my head and erase it before trying again. I'm not sure what's making it so difficult to find the words, but I'm hoping the inspiration comes soon." Heero was hoping for the same thing. "Hey, why don't we play together?" Relena continued, shining her blue eyes at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since we're both having the same issue, I figure that maybe we could find something to write about if we jammed together, or something." Relena saw the arched eyebrow he was giving her. At first she read that as skepticism, but then his face formed into something more contemplative.

"I guess that's not a bad idea." Like she said, they were having the same problem. Maybe they both could gain something by playing together. "But isn't that what your bandmates are supposed to be for?"

"Oh, sure." Relena replied. "Most of my best writing has come from playing with them, but I don't see the harm in jamming with you if that means we can both help each other with our songwriting." The only issue that would raise is that Dorothy and Hilde would have more ammunition for their gossip. But whatever, let them talk. If that meant more time with Heero, then she didn't care.

_Ugh_, Relena thought. It's that kind of thinking that got them talking in the first place.

"It does make sense." Heero nodded, It's not like he wasn't thinking about playing things for her, anyway. "Why not?" He watched the corners of her lips curve upwards and he felt a thump on his chest. Not the reaction he wanted his body to have, but it appeared his heart had other plans. _'Damn!' _an agitated Heero thought.

He shook off those odd sensations and remembered that there was a reason he wanted to speak to her. It had something to do with their visit to the record store a couple of days ago. He wanted to bring it up sooner, but it slipped his mind. "You know, it's funny that you brought that up." he began. "I wanted to talk to you about tonight's show."

"Yeah?" Relena looked at him curiously. "How come?"

"I was thinking that we could get a head start on playing together tonight." He saw Relena give him a confused tilt of the head. "If you're interested, I want you to come up on stage during our set to cover 'Spellbound' with me. What do you say?"

"Oh…" Relena ran that idea through her head. Sharing the stage… with Heero… together. A hurricane of different emotions began to hit her and Relena began to wonder why she was making it seem like a way more intimate thing than it actually was. Bands do this all the time, so she had no idea why she was thinking of this differently. Relena fought off the unnecessary heat that was threatening to burn the sides of her face and gave Heero her answer. "Yeah, that sounds great. I'd love to play, um, _our _favorite song… together." That was a lot tougher to respond to than it should've been.

"Good." Heero was glad to hear it. This shouldn't be too hard for Relena, Heero surmised. She did gain her confidence on stage by watching him as she performed, so being with him during his set should be easier for her to do. As he promised, he'd be there for her if she needed him and, at least for this one song, he could keep an even closer eye on her. His heart thumped again at that thought, and at that very moment he had to hold back from punching himself in the chest. "So, I'm thinking you'll come up and do vocals." Heero moved away from the wall, preparing himself to leave. "I'll kick Duo off guitar. We won't need a second guitarist for this song."

"Whatever you want to do." Relena shrugged her shoulders. "Do you want to rehearse this?" Her equipment was already set up, so now would be the perfect time to practice, Relena figured.

Heero replied with a shake of his head. "No need." he slowly moved his feet, taking a few steps away from Relena. "I trust you'll do a great job singing your favorite song."

"Then I trust you'll do the same." Relena grinned as she watched Heero give her a nod. It always felt good to hear how much confidence Heero had in her. He had been telling her things like this since the first time she performed, but it never ceased to make her happy every time he voiced his belief in her.

"I'll see you inside." Heero began walking, making his way back inside the club.

"Heero, wait." Relena called out to him, stopping the man in his tracks. He turned back, wondering what else she had to say. "So, how did you like that CD I bought you?"

Oh, that's right, Heero remembered. That damn J-Pop CD she bought him. "Well, I listened to it." Heero started, keeping his vision away from the curious girl he thought he finished talking to.

"And?" Relena wanted to hear more than that. After she bought him that EP, he kept insisting that she had wasted her money. He was so sure that there was no chance he would like any of the four songs that were on that disc. But Relena had faith that at least one of those four tracks would give him some joy.

"And… um, well," Heero's forehead creased and moved his eyes towards the ground. Relena noticed this and, coupled with his apparent reluctance to answer, she began to wonder what the problem was.

"Well, what?" Relena pressed. "Did you like it or not?"

Heero gave a weak shrug. "It was… okay, I guess." He felt dumb, knowing how much he told her she was throwing her money away after she bought the thing. He was so turned off at the idea of getting into anything J-Pop, that it shocked him how much he, well…

"Just okay?" Relena pushed on. Heero didn't sound so sure with his weird responses.

Heero let out a heavy sigh, frustrated that he was having a hard time giving Relena an answer. "I don't know." he grunted. "It's not bad."

Relena hopped over to stand beside Heero again, trying to get a better look at him. "It's not bad… so, like, does that mean it's good?"

"Relena…" Heero moved his face away, annoyed that she was trying to look at him.

"What?" she chuckled. "It's okay to admit you like it. You can't be a snobby punk rock kid forever." she poked fun at him. "C'mon, tell me the truth. You can't answer me because I was right and you like it."

"Stop…" he tried growling at her, which only caused her to laugh.

"Which was your favorite track?" Relena asked him, pulling at his wrist to keep him from moving away from her. Heero rolled his eyes and released another irritated sigh. "Personally, I love 'Rhythm Emotion' the most, but I know it's hard to choose a favorite when all four of them are great songs."

Heero glanced at her smaller hand gripping at his wrist. He felt like adjusting her hold on him to intertwine their fingers, but he bit down on his lip, fighting off the need to do so.

"Are you gonna answer me, or what?" Relena continued to prod, not letting him go until he answered her. "Or does that punk rock pride of yours keep you from admitting the truth?" He needed to learn some things from Duo, Relena thought. At least he wasn't afraid to love pop music, even if he did keep it a secret.

"Will you cut it out?" Heero admonished, getting tired of her taunting.

"I will," she replied. "Just as soon as you give me an answer." She heard him groan before he unwillingly met her gaze. She knew that he was obviously stronger than her; he could rip his hand away from her at any second. However, Heero was obviously kind enough not to do that. No matter how much it pained him to admit it, Relena knew she would get a response out of him.

"Do you really need to know?" Heero asked her with a conceding tone. Relena nodded. The smirk she produced agitated him further. "Fine, I liked it. Are you happy now?"

"Yes!" the woman giggled, releasing Heero and throwing her hands up in victory. "I knew you would love it. So go on, which song do you like best?"

"Uh, well, I guess 'Last Impression' was pretty good, but the first one was great, too."

"Yeah, most fans of theirs like 'Just Communication' the most, and for good reason. It's awesome."

The two of them continued to discuss the four songs that Relena purchased for Heero. She wore a smile that, once again, created a tornado of familiar emotions to crash inside of him. He didn't hate it, but it still made him uneasy. This wasn't supposed to happen, not with this girl. Not with the woman who replaced his ex-girlfriend. An ex-girlfriend who he was not ready to break up with, and who he initially fought for even after she ditched him.

But he had gotten to a point a couple weeks ago where he stopped blaming Relena for everything and tossed away his hate for her. He never wanted to treat her badly again. But now, things were becoming more complex and Heero wasn't sure where he was going to go from here.

Between Dorothy's abrasive personality, his whole thing with Sylvia and now Relena, Heero had a hard time dealing with blonde haired guitarists. These women would be the death of him.

* * *

**AN:**** It took close to fifteen years, but in the next chapter I will finally link my favorite female character in fiction with the coolest woman in music history. I did it, guys! Yay for me! Relena will be Siouxsie Sioux! **

**Thank you all for reading! Love you all! **

**The Smiths - "Pretty Girls Make Graves"**


	12. Chapter 12

**Track 12: Spellbound**

Heero watched as the crowd cheered and clapped after they finished tearing through one of their more intense tracks from their first album. He had decided to play some of their faster songs from _Everything Falls Apart_, wanting the audience to expend as much energy as possible in an effort to prepare them for the next couple of songs to follow. He didn't want them to mosh and lose control like they were known to do. Little by little, Heero would transition their fans away from typical hardcore punk behavior, much like he himself was doing that with his band.

He signaled over to one of the Maganacs to turn his guitar up just a bit. He changed the tuning on his Flying V, adjusting it for the next song. He strummed his pick lightly over the strings; his fuzzy sounding distortion filled up the club with that signature buzz. Heero looked on as Duo did his usual crowd work, playing with and taunting the fans. Duo sipped on a bottle of water before throwing the rest of the fluid onto the people closest to the stage, leaving a bunch of their fans soaked. The security working the show didn't care too much for Duo's antics, as they got a little wet themselves, but that wasn't going to stop Duo from acting up. He snickered his way to his microphone, in the mood to address those he just doused in water. "You guys should be thanking me." he began. "I bet you punks probably forgot to shower before coming here."

His comments elicited a huge laugh from the crowd, even from those he was mocking. "Oh don't lie to me," a grinning Duo replied to a response he got. "I could smell you guys before we even came out here."

Heero walked over to Wufei and Trowa, reminding them of the next song up. His two bandmates nodded and watched as Duo continued with his playful banter. Heero looked away, his eyes wandered to the side of the stage. He saw some of the Maganacs moving around, some of them talking to each other about whatever. But the person that caught his attention was the girl that fronted the band that would be going on after they were done. Although, tonight, Relena would be taking the stage a little earlier than usual because, after Heero and the crew were done with their next song, she would be joining them on stage.

Relena would team up with Heero to cover their favorite song, 'Spellbound'.

He caught her laughing at Duo's on-stage shenanigans, before looking over towards him and motioned her head over to the loud mouth guitarist. Heero just gave the woman a shrug and a half-smile. _'It's what he does'_ was basically what Heero's body language conveyed to her. Relena shook her head and continued to watch Duo make a spectacle of himself. Heero remained focused on her, though.

He still found it difficult to comprehend how easily he had become friends with this woman. Between her introducing him to his own people's unique take on pop music, sharing the same undying love for 'Spellbound', the numerous conversations they had about music and their backgrounds since Barge, and now her becoming a temporary part of his band to cover the aforementioned beloved song of theirs… It was a lot for Heero to take in.

It didn't help that his feelings began to shift into something a bit more complicated. Like he acknowledged before, Relena started to conjure up emotions that were very reminiscent of a love gone by. There was a part of him that wanted to hate it, but the other part of him couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he let her in. Being around her just felt different, even in comparison to the woman that once occupied her spot. But the issue was that Relena was reminding him of feelings he once thought were only reserved for the former Jezebels frontwoman. Or was it an issue at all? He wasn't so sure, now.

When Heero thought about it, didn't he tell her that he would get over the whole Sylvia problem on his own? Well, maybe allowing himself to fall for Relena would be the best way to move on. Heero pondered that for a second and wondered if Relena even felt the same way about him.

Heero was about to let his thoughts drift away before he felt something nudge him on the shoulder. He snapped his head around to see Trowa, bringing him back to reality by poking him with the top of his bass. "You okay?" he asked with a curious expression. Trowa could tell Heero's thoughts were somewhere else just before he grabbed his attention.

Heero gave Trowa a blank stare before turning to give Relena one more glance. Trowa mimicked Heero and looked over towards the same direction. A knowing smirk formed and Trowa understood. He suddenly got the feeling that Heero was getting excited for the song they would play after this one. The green eyed musician placed a hand on his leader's shoulder. "You know, the faster we finish this song, the faster we can get her on stage with you."

"What are you talking about?" Heero spun his head around and asked. Trowa could see annoyance grace his features and it only emboldened him to keep that smirk on his face.

"Nothing at all." Trowa also gave Relena one more look before pulling back from his guitar playing friend. "Ready whenever you are."

Heero grabbed the neck of his guitar. He released a low grunt, a signal of his frustration from being caught off guard by Trowa. This was why he kept his business to himself. He hated being so transparent. He stepped back up to his mic stand and Duo took notice, understanding that it was time to rip into 'Pink Turns to Blue'. He rushed back to take his own position behind the mic, knowing he would be providing backing vocals for the chorus. Heero placed his fingers on the proper spots on the fretboard and commenced playing, picking at the strings along with Duo as they teamed up on the song's opening riff.

Relena spectated from the side, watching intently at Heero as he played his guitar. The crowd popped big for 'Pink Turns to Blue', a song that Relena noticed had become a hit with Heero's fans, which she found interesting for a couple reasons. One, it wasn't a song that took off at the speed of light like your typical hardcore song. And two, it had its origin in very morbid subject matter, as Heero told her that the song was about a girl overdosing on drugs.

_Going out each day to score, she was no whore but for me_

_Celebrating every day the way she thought it should be_

Heero mentioned that he usually never spoke to anyone about what his songs meant, or what they were about. Relena smiled when she thought about him saying that to her. She recalled him following that up with _'Hell, I don't even know why I'm telling you.' _and she hunched over slightly, chuckling to herself. She wasn't sure what made him open up to her about his lyrics and music, but she couldn't help but feel fortunate to know that he could talk to her about something deeply important to him in a way that he couldn't with anyone else. From there, she observed as Heero and Duo harmonized together on the hook.

_And I don't know what to do_

_Now that pink has turned to blue_

_And I don't know what to do_

_Now that pink has turned to blue_

This was a song that didn't require Heero to bark like a madman. He confided in her that he wasn't very confident in his singing, so he preferred the usual guttural roars that sounded like it tore away at his vocal cords. But Relena had to disagree, telling him that he didn't give himself enough credit for what he was able to do with that baritone voice of his. As she heard him run through the next verse that led to another go at the chorus, she had to remind herself to tell Heero that his singing was only getting better. Hopefully that would boost his confidence in his ability to serenade the crowd.

Heero then took over with his instrument of chaos, forcing his Flying V to do the singing for him as he played through the song's guitar solo. That was another thing Heero revealed to her: He also wasn't too sure about his playing ability. He didn't learn the traditional way and chose to figure it out as he went along; because of that, he always had this thought in the back of his mind that his music couldn't possibly evolve the way he wanted it to if he couldn't play better than three-chord style punk rock. Again, Relena lifted him up by reminding him that he still created insanely memorable and captivating music without playing his guitar like he was some kind of musical genius. Relena told Heero that from _Everything Falls Apart _to _Zen Arcade_, his skills have only improved. Heero wasn't entirely convinced, but Relena wouldn't hear any of it. For someone who owned the stage with a startling level of intensity, Heero sure could be insecure about some things.

Whatever. He helped her overcome a lot of her anxieties when it came to performing, and now, whatever issues Heero had with himself, she would be there to walk him through it. Like he told her, if he needed her, she would be there. Relena wasn't going anywhere.

_No more rope and too much dope, she's lying on the bed_

_Angels pacing, gently placing roses 'round her head_

She felt her chest swell in a way that was reminiscent of the nervousness she felt before performing. However, this time it felt different. This wasn't caused by stage fright or a reluctance to play in front of a crowd, at least not completely. No, this was mostly something else. Relena wasn't sure where this came from, but as the song was nearing its end, she quickly deduced that her thoughts about Heero were the cause for this sudden expansion in her chest. She pressed down on her breast, trying to keep herself together. She took a few steady breaths, shaking her head and telling herself that now was not the time.

She already resolved to keep her focus on this tour. She couldn't allow her burgeoning feelings for the fellow musician take over. But…

_And I don't know what to do_

_Now that pink has turned to blue_

_Now I don't know what to do_

_Now that pink has turned to blue_

It appeared that Relena's heart wasn't quite on the same page with her. And as she watched Heero pour his emotions into those final lines, she felt herself press down harder, finding it immensely challenging to keep her composure. Between his trademark animalistic beauty and his rumbling voice reverberating in her ears, Heero wasn't doing her any favors. She felt her front teeth start to dig into her bottom lip, hoping he would stop doing this to her.

'_Damn him'_

_And I don't know what to do_

_Now that pink has turned to blue_

_Now I don't know what to do…_

* * *

"Okay, okay…" Duo clapped along with the fans as he addressed them again. "It sounds like you guys like that one, am I right?" The crowd roared positively. "Good to hear!" Duo detached the mic from its stand, holding it close to his face.

"They like it, Heero." Duo wandered the stage. "You did good on that one, man. He did good on that one, didn't he?" Duo looked to the crowd once more and, again, they responded in the affirmative. "I think it's the best song he's ever written if you ask me." Duo leaned on a stack of amps. He sighed into the microphone. "So, what do we got next… oh yeah!" Duo removed his guitar, holding it by its neck.

"Okay y'all, things are about to get cute! I won't say why…" Duo gave Heero a knowing wink, something the frontman did not appreciate. The look Heero was giving the braided guitarist right now would shake any man to his core, but Duo had been on the receiving end of those glares so many times that he had grown an immunity to it. "But trust me, it'll be beautiful." Heero couldn't wait to get Duo off the stage.

Duo proceeded to bring the mic back to its stand. "Next up, we're gonna have a special guest join us for this next one. Unfortunately for you guys, y'all won't have me around for this little number." The mass of bodies in attendance cheered. "Hey!" Duo complained before chuckling at their response. "Anyway, I'm gonna go have myself a drink, so while I do that, please welcome to the stage, one of the few people in this building better looking than me… from The Jezebels, Relena fucking Peacecraft."

Duo pointed over to the side of the stage where Relena walked out from. She gave the audience a weak wave as she kept her vision over to where Heero stood, waiting for her. The crowd gave a very positive cheer when Relena appeared, causing the young woman to keep a smile on her visage.

As he passed her by, Duo stopped Relena, pulling her into a light hug. "You two are cute, ya' know that?" he said.

"Duo, shut up." Relena rolled her eyes as she patted his back.

Duo released her with a grin. "Y'all have fun now!" He sped up and sprinted off.

Relena smoothed out her shirt and proceeded over to Heero. She got closer and saw him motion her over towards his mic. She nodded and reached over to it, taking it off its stand. She showed the audience her back and shuffled over to look up at Heero. He cast his eyesight downward to match blue colored stares with her. His smile was faint, but Relena could tell it was there, not giving too much of himself away. Of course, she didn't bother and her smile radiated through the dimly lit stage, still fighting off the funny feelings he was causing her.

Heero could tell that there was something off about her, but just assumed that it was the usual thing bothering her, not having a clue that this time he was the source of everything. Instead, he was just hoping that she wasn't showing signs of regression. "Are you alright?" Heero calmly asked.

Relena guessed she was that easy to read. Or at least easy enough for Heero to read. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." she shook her head. "I think I'm just really excited to play this song with you."

That faint smile of his evolved after he heard her tell him that. There was nothing 'faint' about it now, Relena noted. Now she just had to remind herself to tell Heero to smile more, it looked amazing on him. Heero gripped the neck of his guitar again. He removed the fuzzbox effect on his guitar, preferring to go with a more cleaner tone for this song. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Are you?" Heero smirked at that reply and gave her a nod. He looked over to Trowa, letting him know he was going to start, as his bass would have to match up with his guitar. Trowa acknowledged his mission, waiting for Heero to begin. He took his pick and began plucking at the strings to that opening riff that he and Relena both loved so much. Trowa's bass swelled in background as Heero continued onward, setting things up for Relena's voice to cut through. She brought the microphone close to her lips and, as she kept her eyes focused on Heero, Relena played her role.

_From the cradle bars_

_Comes a beckoning voice_

_It sends you spinning_

_You have no choice_

And after a few more strikes at Heero's strings, Wufei's thumping drums kicked in and the song picked up speed.

_You hear a laughter_

_Cracking through the walls_

_It sends you spinning_

_You have no choice_

_You hear laughter_

_Cracking through the walls_

_It sends you spinning_

_You have no choice!_

Heero could hear how Relena changed her singing style as to match the original singer's thunderous bellowing. And wow, Heero thought, she was doing an amazing job imitating that woman's magnificent voice. He just stared as she twirled away from him. Her shimmering, honey blonde hair flying behind her. Heero couldn't keep his eyes away. The beautiful image she created as she moved about the stage, losing herself in the role of the woman she was covering. He just couldn't look away. It was impossible right at that moment. He was so focused on Relena that he almost fumbled on the chords he was supposed to be playing. This gorgeous, dancing singer was throwing him off his game and, for some reason, he wasn't upset about it.

He was, appropriately enough, entranced.

And here, the song intensified as they reached the chorus.

_Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance_

_We are entranced_

_Spellbound!_

_Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance_

_We are entranced_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

The song slowed down as the second verse came around. Relena concentrated on her vocals, doing everything she could to perform these lyrics to the best of her ability. She loved this song, and so did Heero, so she wanted this to be perfect for the both of them. Her eyes so far only acknowledged the crowd once so far, and if she wasn't looking around the stage, then she was matching eye contact with Heero, who little did she know was fully under the spell she had no idea she had even casted on him.

_And don't forget when your elders forget_

_To say their prayers_

_Take them by the legs_

_And throw them down the stairs_

As Heero went at his guitar, his vision was still locked on her. He followed her every move, unable to tear himself away. He noticed that she started doing a lot of the same dances and hand gestures that were in the original song's old music video. This pulled at the corner of Heero's lips and he had no way of hiding this particular smile. Heero couldn't remember another time that he felt like this on stage. He was so enraptured by her performance, that it felt like he was a part of the audience and was just lucky enough to share a closeness to this wonderful performer.

_When you think your toys have gone berserk_

_It's an illusion_

_You cannot shirk!_

_You hear laughter_

_Cracking through the walls_

_It sends you spinning_

_You have no choice!_

Was the audience enjoying this cover? Heero wasn't sure. He honestly didn't care. All that mattered to him was that he did. Her singing was otherworldly to him at that moment. Relena wasn't a part of any band prior to landing this gig thanks to Dorothy, but yet Heero felt like he was becoming a fan of hers like any other respected member of a group he liked. Her voice was hypnotizing him, which was weird because he obviously heard her sing before… but the effect was nothing like this.

And she wondered why he was so insecure about his own singing ability.

_Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance_

_We are entranced_

_Spellbound!_

_Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance_

_We are entranced_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound! _

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

_Spellbound!_

Relena was having so much fun right now, losing herself in the song. As she belted out every 'Spellbound!' on the chorus, she wondered where all of this confidence was coming from. She had fun on stage before playing with her band on this tour, but this moment felt unlike any other. And the only thing that was different was the backing band, and more importantly, that Heero was watching her from only a few feet away.

She came to the conclusion that he was the most important part in all of this. He gave her the courage to be up here in the first place, so she made sure that she performed brilliantly for the both of them, especially when this song means a lot to the two of them.

_Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance_

_We are entranced!_

Relena bounced her way back up towards Heero, looking up at him as if their eyes were connecting like magnets. It was a shame that the song was almost over, because both of them felt like they could share the same stage forever.

_Following the footsteps of a rag... doll... dance!_

_We are entranced!_

_Entranced! _

_Entranced!_

_Entranced! _

_Entranced!_

_Entranced! _

_Entranced!_

Keeping their gazes on each other, Heero and Relena sung those final words to each other as they led the song to it's inevitable closure. Heero killed his guitar as Trowa's bass and Wufei's drums marched on before suddenly halting, marking the end of 'Spellbound'.

The crowd erupted in great appreciation for what they just observed. It took Heero and Relena by surprise, as they were reminded that they weren't in their own world anymore. That's right, the both of them remembered, they were supposed to be performing for them, but instead they were fixated on the song and on each other.

The two of them gave the elated and applauding crowd a glance. "I… guess they liked it?" Relena asked, still coming down from the high she felt. She noticed Heero shrug out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face him and Heero found the woman smiling warmly at him. He returned that smile as much as he could. It felt strange, his body was shaking, but it wasn't like he was anxious or nervous about anything. It was weird and he couldn't describe it.

Relena felt the same way, but as she looked at the owner of those deep Prussian eyes, Relena suddenly felt the sudden urge to do something about it. So she did what came natural and threw her arms around his neck, bringing him down into a welcoming embrace.

Heero's eyes widened and his eyes scanned around to see Trowa look away, as if giving them private time. Wufei, of course, had no interest in what was happening, which was expected. He wished that everyone felt like Wufei did right now, but he knew he wouldn't be that lucky. Oh well… from here, he would do what was best. What was it that his father used to say to him when he was really young? Oh yeah.

Always live by your emotions. That seemed to apply here.

"This was really fun." she said to him, her lips close to his ear. She felt Heero tense up at first, but he quickly relaxed in her hold and further surprised her by feeling his arm snake around her waist. He pulled her in with a gentle squeeze and Relena gladly eased into his grasp.

"Yeah, it was." Heero's voice vibrated pleasantly in Relena's head. Heero felt her shift around, almost nuzzling into the side of his neck.

"And your guitar playing has gotten better. Do you see what I'm talking about now?" she asked, her arms tightening her hold on him.

"I think I do." Heero responded. He adjusted his head slightly whisper a low "Thank you." to her, this time using his other arm to add a little more pressure on her back to push her in as much as he could without hurting her. Relena closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Okay, this wasn't what she had planned, and quite frankly it scared her how much quickly things were moving with Heero. She thought if anything would happen between them, then it would be post-tour. But now, here she was. It was just a hug, and that didn't necessarily mean anything, but considering how she was feeling about Heero recently, things were only just getting more perplexing.

Her hand was creeping upward, her fingertips dragging on the back of his neck. Heero shivered at her actions and for a second he wondered if he should stop her, but couldn't find it in him to cease her actions. Instead, he lifted his hand, wanting to do something similar, but…

The two of them were reminded where they were when they heard someone clear their throat. "Um… Heero, the feedback from your guitar is kind of annoying the crowd."

The two of them immediately pulled away from each other, remembering that Heero's Flying V was still hanging between the two of them and Relena had brushed up too close to it, causing some noisy feedback to flood from the speakers. How neither of them heard it, they had no idea. "Oh, um, sorry!" Relena released an embarrassed chuckle. "Uh, well, you guys have a set to finish so… I'll see you guys later." a rosy cheeked Relena turned on her heels and quickly retreated away from the stage, rushing to get away from the scene, leaving an awkward Heero standing there.

Heero watched as she escaped. He had no idea how to process what just happened. He raked a hand through his unruly mess of hair. He glanced over at Trowa who didn't bother going on about what he saw, preferring to give Heero a lopsided smirk. He was glad that Trowa wasn't the type to make a big deal out of it, but unfortunately…

He couldn't say the same about Duo, who he saw rushing back to them, shit-eating grin plastered on that dumb face of his.

He had a feeling this would be annoying night, on top of being a confusing one as well.

"So, what song is next?" Trowa asked the frontman. Honestly, Heero couldn't remember. At this point, he was barely into the show right now. His head was flooded with images of golden colored hair, and he had no idea what that meant.

What a pain.

* * *

**AN:**** To my idol, ****Siouxsie Sioux **

**Hüsker Dü - "Pink Turns to Blue"**

**Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Spellbound"**


	13. Chapter 13

**Track 13: Jigsaw Feeling**

_They call me the Wild Rose_

_But my name was Elisa Day_

_Heero's eyes slowly cracked open as his ears were filled with the sounds of a feathery, feminine tone. The sun's rays broke through the blinds of his windows and touched his face with a warm caress. The blur in his vision began to form into something more coherent, allowing him to see the rest of his room where he was currently lying on his bed. He had his hands buried underneath his pillow while his exposed stomach remained plastered to the sheets underneath him. _

_Why they call me it I do not know_

_For my name was Elisa Day_

_Her voice lightly floated the chorus to a song that both of them knew very well. It was one of her favorites, and Heero recalled the many times he would sing the entire track with her. For a couple comprised of two musicians, they surprisingly didn't do that much. _

_But, for whatever reason, they did with this song. _

_Heero gave a slight shift of his head; the side of his face still digging into the comfort of his pillow. His eyes followed the woman as she paced around his room, gathering some clothing that littered the floor. Her attire consisted of one of his shirts that hung loosely off of her, barely covering her exposed rear end. _

_They call me The Wild Rose_

_But my name was Elisa Day_

_Why they call me it I do not know_

_For my name was Elisa Day_

_Heero released a small grunt and decided to push himself off the bed. He carefully adjusted to sit at the edge of the mattress; his bare feet landing on the floor below. With a slumped over posture, he ran both hands through an even messier head of chocolate colored strands. Eyes scanning lower, he was reminded that he wore even less than the woman occupying the room with him. As a matter of fact, he wore nothing at all. _

"_Hn."_

_He suddenly felt something land on his head. He reached up to pull down a couple articles of clothing. It was a muscle shirt and a pair of boxer briefs. _

"_Looking for those?" Sylvia ceased her singing, smiling at the naked Heero Yuy._

_He rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked, still feeling a bit groggy. _

_Sylvia stepped towards the other side of the bed to grab at her phone. "Mm, about 10:30." _

"_We didn't get much sleep." Heero noted, clearing his throat. _

"_Not my fault." Sylvia roamed around the room, typing away at her phone. "You're the one who wanted to bang me for like an hour and half after we got back from Duo's party." _

"_I don't remember much resistance." Heero remarked as he slipped back into the two pieces of fabric that were tossed at him._

_Sylvia watched as Heero rose from his spot on the bed. "Well, it's hard to resist when your man looks like this." she stated, trotting over to give Heero a playful smack on his behind. _

_Heero lowered his head to give his girlfriend a kiss. "What's your day looking like?" he asked. _

_Sylvia looked back at her phone as she wrapped an arm around Heero's waist. "Gonna meet up with Dorothy for lunch later, and probably continue working on the album." _

"_How's she feeling?" Heero recalled the platinum blonde throwing down several glasses of wine at Duo's place. _

"_She texted me 'Is chamomile good for a hangover?'" Sylvia craned her head upward towards Heero. "So yeah, that should tell you how she's feeling." _

"_I see." _

_Sylvia released her hold on him before heading over to snatch up her panties and leggings. Heero followed behind her and ripped them from her hands, tossing them over his shoulder and onto the bed. "You stay like that." _

"_Oh?" a curious eyebrow lifted on the blonde. "Round two?" _

"_Maybe." Heero headed for the door. He gave her one more look before exiting; narrowing his eyes at the half naked Jezebel. "I'll need you ready, just in case." _

"_Yes, sir." Sylvia humorously saluted, but also very much into the idea of a 'round two'. Heero didn't just look like a gorgeously majestic, wild animal… he also fucked like one, too. _

_Heero's feet took him to his living room area. He walked over to the stacks of shelves he set up which were filled with his current record collection. They were set up in alphabetical order and Heero looked through the rows of vinyl, wondering which album he would choose to start off his day. _

_There were a few that got his consideration, but he second guessed himself and continued to progress through his records. He started to slow down when he got to the 'S' portion of his collection. He found a particular artist he was very fond of and went through what he had of her's lined up on his shelf. _

_He pulled out Hyæna and thought about throwing that on, but decided against it. He then went for the album Tinderbox, an album of her's that he loved, but again he placed the record back and searched once more. His finger landed on the spine of their debut album, The Scream, but a smile crept onto his face. Who was he kidding, Heero thought._

_His fingers glided over and landed on old faithful: Juju. _

_Pulling out the well-conditioned, plastic wrapped LP, he carefully slid out the round piece of vinyl from its sleeve and took it over to his record player he had hooked up to his stereo. He turned it on and his copy of Juju began to spin. Dropping the needle on the first groove, the speakers started to emit those wonderful sounds of that sweet guitar from the very first track off the album. _

'_Spellbound'_

_He mimicked the guitar picking motion as the song marched onward. Heero hoped that one day he would become a third as talented as this guy was with their shared instrument. It was listening to songs and records like this that made him consider pushing his band away from the hardcore punk he thought he wanted to emulate. If that was going to happen, he was going to have to get a little better at playing his guitar, Heero deduced. _

_You hear a laughter_

_Cracking through the walls_

_It sends you spinning_

_You have no choice_

"_Ugh," Sylvia grumbled as she headed for Heero's kitchen, intending to get a pot of coffee going. "You play that song all the time…" _

_Heero inwardly groaned. Okay, he knew that not everyone had to like everything, but did she always have to complain whenever he played these records, especially this one? It never failed. She knew how much this song meant to him, so why did she persist? _

"_Don't you ever get sick of this record?" _

_Sylvia wasn't much of a fan of this band. She made that clear to him from the beginning. _

"_No." Heero flatly stated. _

"_Oh c'mon…" Sylvia continued to whine. "Can't you play my favorite instead? I know my copy of Heaven or Las Vegas is here." _

"_Maybe next time." _

_Sylvia sighed. "Can you at least play it after 'Halloween' is over?" _

"_I'll consider it." Heero didn't really want to. Whenever he dropped the needle on Juju, he intended on hearing it all the way through. But, if it kept her from complaining… "I'm surprised you bothered to know the titles of the songs." _

"_Well you play it all the time, so…" Sylvia leaned back on the kitchen counter. "We're still going to see your father tomorrow?" _

"_That's the plan." Heero shifted back towards his records, searching for Sylvia's copy of Heaven or Las Vegas. _

"_He hates me." _

"_He does." Heero replied. "Don't feel bad though," he found her favorite album. "He hates me, too." He brought it up and placed it on the side of his record player. _

"_Hopefully it's a quick visit." Sylvia moved to grab a mug. "Do we have to go?"_

"_No, we don't." Heero dropped himself on his couch. _

"_Then why are we going?" _

_Heero shrugged to himself. "I guess to remind him I'm still alive." _

"_You could always just text him." Sylvia sipped her coffee. _

"_I could always just text him." Heero lazily repeated. _

"_Then I wouldn't have to worry about keeping you two from swinging on each other." Visiting Heero's father was always a dicey proposition. They didn't go to Odin's place much, but it was never a comfortable situation whenever they did. _

"_We'll be fine. I haven't swung on him since I was seventeen." Heero recalled. "We just yell at each other now."_

"_Yes, that's keeping it civil." Sylvia truly didn't understand why Heero continued to see his father. At least she knew it would be a long time before they did it again. "By the way, I'm taking your shirt home with me." _

"_There goes another one…" Heero groaned. _

"_I'll bring the other ones back, I swear." Sylvia promised. "I just need to take this one because mine reeks of beer, and it's still kinda wet." _

"_Hn." Heero remembered a drunken Duo Maxwell accidentally spilling his beer on his girlfriend right before they left; leaving a peeved Sylvia sitting in the car wearing just a bra to cover her chest. In hindsight, she should've just asked Hilde for a shirt or something, instead of taking one of his. _

"_I should probably leave some of my things here, just in case I find myself in this predicament again." Sylvia remarked, continuing to down her coffee._

"_You know, if you just moved in this wouldn't be an issue." Heero stated, looking over to see the woman's reaction. As expected, she didn't respond, instead choosing to simply glare at him. "I don't get it." he said with a humorless chuckle. _

"_Heero…" Sylvia warned. "We've gone through this already. I like what we have, we don't need to move in with each other." _

_No matter how many times he brought this up, she never gave him a satisfactory answer. Yeah, they didn't NEED to live together, but after a little over two years? It just seemed strange. It was as if she had one foot in and one foot out. This weird living situation sort of made him feel uncomfortable. He loved this girl, but what the hell?_

_Heero gave a slight shake of the head before turning away again. _

"_What?" she huffed at him. "Do you seriously want to talk about this again?" _

_Heero didn't respond. _

"_You know what I'm going to say, Heero." she continued. "So why bring it up?" _

_Again, Heero said nothing. _

"_Okay, just say nothing. That's fine, I didn't want to waste my breath on this topic anyway." an increasingly agitated Sylvia commented. _

"_I thought the guy was supposed to be the one with commitment issues." Heero muttered. She was acting like he was talking about marriage, and if this was her way of reacting to simply moving in together, then..._

"_What?" _

_Heero rose from the couch to move towards the stereo, turning the volume up just a bit more. He stripped off his muscle shirt. At this point, he figured he should've just remained nude. "If the record gets past 'Halloween', you can change it." Heero deadpanned. "I'm gonna go shower." _

_Sylvia watched him walk away. She saw the creases on his forehead and sensed the annoyance emanating from him. "Don't get mad at me!" She called out to him as he trotted towards his bathroom. "You know I don't like talking about this!" she shouted over the stereo. Heero remained unresponsive to her. That always pissed her off. "Dammit!" she slapped a hand on the counter behind her. _

_She could barely hear as he shut the bathroom door behind him. Sylvia released a heavy sigh, wishing that this bothersome subject never came up. Now he was cleaning his body which meant one thing, and that only served to frustrate the blonde even more. _

"_Does this mean no round two?" _

* * *

Seis Clark pushed open the front door to his house. He let out a yawn, tired after a long day of work. He stomped over towards the living room where he found his wife, Aoi, curled up on the couch. He noticed the bored expression on her face as she switched from channel to channel on their television. "Hey." she dispassionately greeted him.

Seis kept his hands in his jacket and nodded. "Hey." he tossed back with equal enthusiasm. He marched forward and collapsed on the couch beside her.

"You forgot to take your boots off." Aoi said, still searching for something to watch.

"I did…" Seis responded.

"Gonna take them off?"

"In a little bit." Seis replied.

"How was work?" Aoi side glanced at her husband.

Seis gave a shrug. "Same old thing, you know how it is." He was beginning to wonder if she would choose anything to watch, or just turn off the TV in irritation.

"I see."

"And how was your day?" Seis leaned his head back, trying to stifle another yawn that threatened to escape.

"Same old thing, you know how it is." Aoi repeated his words back to him .

"Nice." Seis nodded.

"More like boring, but okay." Aoi replied, leaving the TV on the local news before dropping the remote.

"Wanna go out for dinner tonight?" Seis looked at her.

"Sick of my cooking?" Aoi stared back.

"Yeah, kinda." Seis said with a smile.

"Asshole." Aoi shook her head before going back to give the TV the bare minimum of her attention. "Yeah, we can go out tonight. Have somewhere in mind?"

"Not really, but we'll think of something, I'm sure."

"Hn."

Seis chuckled at that. That also reminded of something interesting that happened today. "Has your son reached out to you yet?"

Aoi threw him a knowing look. "I'm sure you already know the answer to that."

"Yeah…" Seis was well aware of their strained relationship. "Well, Trant sent me something interesting today." Seis pulled a hand out of his jacket, revealing his phone.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah…" Seis went searching through his phone, looking for that message he got from his younger brother. "He sent me a link to a video and he said 'tell Aoi she might have a new daughter-in-law soon'."

"Huh?" Aoi whipped her head towards her husband with a raised brow. What the hell was her brother-in-law talking about?

"Here…" Seis pulled up the video titled 'Do You Remember? and Jezebels cover Spellbound' and skipped towards the end. He leaned over to show Aoi. "There's your boy… and look at that." he said with a smirk.

Aoi craned her neck to get a good look at the video. It was clearly someone recording at one of her son's shows. She noticed her son on stage as the cameraman zoomed in.

It was there that she noticed her son getting pulled into an embrace by a beautiful, young blonde woman. She knew it wasn't Sylvia Noventa. It was then that she recalled Heero muttering something about her replacement last time he visited her.

So this was that girl, huh?

They were hugging for quite a while, and from what she could tell, they looked to be sharing a few words. Aoi almost turned away when some ear splitting feedback started to slice through.

"Ooh, sorry!" Seis chuckled as he turned the volume down.

Aoi continued to watch and from what she saw, it looked like they had to be separated by one of Heero's bandmates. The young blonde hugging her son began to awkwardly rush off the stage, leaving a visibly flummoxed Heero Yuy behind. She knew her son's body language well enough. That hug, and more specifically that girl, made quite an impression on her son. They'd been touring for a while now, so she wondered if there was something going on between them. "Huh…" the video ended.

"What do you think?" Seis asked her as he tucked his phone back into his jacket.

Aoi blinked at her husband a few times before turning her attention back towards the television. "I learned two things from watching that."

"Oh yeah?"

Aoi nodded. "Yup. One, she's a very pretty girl."

"Sure," Seis said in agreement. "And the other thing?"

"My son clearly has a type." Aoi sighed.

* * *

Sylvia sat by a table outside of a small cafe. She absentmindedly searched through her phone, going through some of her social media. As she scrolled through her timeline, she got a message from a friend of hers.

'Have u seen this yet?' It read with a link.

Sylvia tilted her head, pondering what her friend was talking about. She pressed the link that sent her to the video app. Her eyes slightly widened when she read the title of the video.

'Do You Remember? and Jezebels cover Spellbound' is what it read. It was posted about a week ago. Sylvia watched the same thing that Aoi Clark saw.

Heero Yuy, the man that once belonged to her, hugging up on her successor. She knew that look on her ex-boyfriend's face. Sylvia knew what that meant. After witnessing this, she felt a strange thumping in her chest. She gritted her teeth, hating this feeling. Hating it because of what it could mean. She did what she could to fight this bizzare anxiousness permeating inside of her.

Leaving Heero was supposed to put the pieces back together, and now the puzzle pieces were beginning to fall apart again. At least some of them were.

'I still don't know why u left him… should've sent him my way' her friend sent another message. Sylvia just rolled her eyes. 'I bet he's amazing in bed lol' the other girl added.

Sylvia let our an audible groan after she read that. "He is…" she chuckled mirthlessly to herself. "Hmm," Sylvia rewatched the video again. She studied the two and their movements. Something was definitely happening between these two, Sylvia figured.

She analyzed the new blonde Jezebel with a grin forming on her lips. "She's cute…" Sylvia admitted. "I can see it, Heero. I can see what you see in her."

Sylvia put her phone down; crossing her arms as she looked around the establishment she was currently patronizing. "Well, I'll have to remember to pay my old friends a visit sometime." she smiled, wondering how she'll be received when they see her again.

When _he _sees her again...

* * *

**AN:**** Wanted to do something a little different with this chapter. It's not a great one, I'll admit it, but we'll get back to the stars of the show next time. I promise! **

**Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Jigsaw Feeling"**

**Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Spellbound"**

**Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Feat. Kylie Minogue) - "Where the Wild Roses Grow" **


	14. Chapter 14

**Track 14: The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill**

They both gave each other the nod, signaling it was time to begin. With picks tightly secured between the tips of their fingers, the two musicians who sat side by side started strumming away intently at the two chords that comprised the majority of the song they were attacking. The sound of two harmonizing acoustic guitars rushed ahead at a measured pace; the tones of these two instruments bouncing off the walls of the confined space they were currently inhabiting.

This wasn't a stage, nor was it a recording studio. This wasn't someone's home, though it had been acting like one ever since they all began their journey together.

This was the inside of a tour bus, and right now there was something a performance happening within the oversized vehicle. There was no audience in attendance, and that was exactly what they wanted. Just the two of them, jamming away.

_There are things that I'd like to say_

_But I'm never talking to you again_

Relena's voice softly carried the first couple lines of the song, with Heero's rumbling baritone joining in to harmonize alongside her. They'd been playing for a little while now, hiding away from the rest of the crew within this giant hunk of transpiration.

_There's things I'd like to phrase some way_

_But I'm never talking to you again_

At Relena's request, they played one of her favorite songs off Heero's record, _Zen Arcade_. It was one of the songs Heero was most curious about when it came to audience reception. It was just a short acoustic track that he came up with one day when he was thinking about his childhood and his parents. Heero noticed that the crowds seemed rather split on the song. That didn't surprise him. His fans were raised on blistering, two-minute long screeds of chaos, so these things would take time.

She said she liked it, though. And for Heero, that was all the validation this song needed.

_I'm never talking to you again_

_I'm never talking to you_

_I'm tired of wasting all my time_

_Trying to talk to you_

They paused for a second to glance at one another. After giving each other another quick set of nods, they went right back at it; both of their voices carrying Heero's song together into the next short verse.

_I'd put you down where you belong_

_But I'm never talking to you again_

Heero mentioned to Relena that this song was about his family, which was true, but these days it sort of felt like the song had retroactively morphed into a message towards a certain ex-girlfriend of his. Relena knew he had written it before the break up, but she also felt the same way. The lyrics were angry, yet vague enough to where they could be about anyone. A part of Relena wished that to be true; that whenever Heero sang these words, they were directed right towards Sylvia Noventa, wherever she was.

Relena inwardly admonished herself for thinking that way. She didn't know Sylvia Noventa; she never had a conversation with the girl. There shouldn't be any reason for Relena to think so harshly about a woman she didn't really know.

_I'd show you everywhere you're wrong_

_But I'm never talking to you again_

But that was just Relena being honest with herself.

Honest because her feelings for the man playing guitar alongside right now had grown exponentially and, after their cover of 'Spellbound', everyone else started to see it, too.

_I'm never talking to you again_

_I'm never talking to you_

_I'm tired of wasting all my time_

_Trying to talk to you_

_Talking to you_

Their guitars proceeded into the instrumental section, with Relena improvising and adding more by picking away at the strings instead of the quick strumming that made up this portion of the song. Heero approved of the changes she made to his creation.

One of the many joys of getting closer to Relena was seeing her play. He obviously didn't notice it when they first met, but now he could appreciate this high level of jubilance that she brought with her playing style. The radiance of her smile perfectly complemented Relena as she plucked away with much exuberance. The notes she struck almost turned the song into something it wasn't when he created it. He could almost feel the bitterness seeping out of the track as she went along. Some artists would take offense to that, but Heero was captivated. As far he was concerned, she could go off all day and night and he wouldn't get tired of watching or listening.

He could handle all of the teasing and ribbing that came their way from people like Dorothy and Duo after their infamous 'Spellbound' cover. If that meant he could continue to look into the beauty of this woman's soul, then so be it. This was heaven for him.

And that's when something clicked in his head.

_I'm never talking to you again_

_I'm never talking to you_

_I'm tired of wasting all my time_

_Trying to talk to you…_

The strumming ceased as they reached the end, completing their joint interpretation of the song. They both set their guitars to the side as Relena gave Heero a fulfilled smile. "That was good." she said to him. Heero nodded in response as he slouched over with his hands clasped. It was good, he thought. So far everything he did with her was very good.

He suddenly felt her rest her head on his shoulder. He couldn't recall the exact moment they became this comfortable with each other, but he knew it was sometime after their 'Spellbound' cover. His eyes wandered over to regard her.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Hn." she felt him nod again.

"Have you heard from your family?" the question slightly surprising Heero. "You don't have to answer, I was just curious."

"No, I haven't." Heero responded, figuring it wasn't too difficult of a question to answer.

"Do you plan on reaching out to them?" Relena felt him shrug this time.

"Probably not." Heero had no intention of communicating with any blood relatives back at home.

"Do you ever see it getting any better?" Relena moved her head to catch Heero's Prussian colored orbs glaring down at her. "With your family, I mean."

"I don't know…" Heero answered truthfully. It had been this way for so long, he wasn't sure if it would ever change. He wasn't even sure he cared. "I don't really think about it much. Might be a lost cause, anyway."

"Hearing that makes me feel bad that 'Whatever' is my favorite song of yours." Relena said with an apologetic smile, referring to one of the few songs off _Zen Arcade _directed at his parents.

"That's okay," Heero began as he admired the loveliness of her facial features. "I had to do something with all that childhood trauma."

Heero could tell there was something about that answer she didn't like, but she chose not to say anything. He watched as she casted her eyes downward; his own blue colored pair doing the same. She carefully slid her hand down his arm; her touch creating a series of chills all over his body. Reaching her destination, she gently unclasped Heero's hands to intertwine fingers with him. For a split second, Relena was unsure if this was the right course of action. All she knew was that she wanted to feel more of him. But any worry she had was sent flying out the window when she felt him give her a strong yet tender squeeze.

Relena could feel some of the cuts and welts from the grasp of his fingers. Sometimes he played with so much intensity that the strings on his guitar would dig into him, sometimes even drawing blood. However, the feel of those scars only made her even more eager for his touch.

"Has your family… reached out to you?" Heero cleared his throat, uncertain where to go from here.

"They have…" a humorous grin began to spread on Relena's face as she remembered her older brother texting her 'what the hell is going on out there?'. That 'Spellbound' video really got around fast. She assured her nosy brother that nothing was going on, but from the looks of things, that might not be true anymore.

"I see…" Heero replied, now choosing to focus on these particular strands of golden locks that hung over her eyes. He decided to do what felt right and lifted his free hand to lightly brush away at her hair.

A faint gasp escaped her as the tips of his fingers softly grazed her forehead. Her eyelids quivered to a close as she felt his hand glide over to cup the side of her face. The warmth of his calloused hand brought forth a rose colored tint to Relena's skin. She nuzzled deeper into his palm with Heero's thumb carefully massaging small circles on her cheek.

Heero didn't expect to be doing this. He swallowed down a lump that formed in his throat, beginning to ponder the idea of stopping all this. Relena could feel him stiffen up in hesitation. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him curiously. "Heero?" her voice sang questioningly.

"Relena…" Heero spoke, forcing down another annoying lump. She could sense a strange sense of conflict emanating from him. It was obvious from the look in eyes to the stifling of his actions.

"Are you okay?" she sweetly asked, her delightful voice causing Heero's body to give in with a slight shudder.

"I…" Heero tried to find a reason, but nothing came. But he had to ask himself why he was looking for a reason in the first place? Was it… Sylvia again? No, it couldn't be… or, really, it shouldn't be. "Sorry.. I can't really find the words…" Heero remarked apologetically.

Relena didn't understand what was happening, but she quickly decided to, literally, take matters into her own hands. They were already this far in, and she didn't want to let him go. Not now. So she took her free palm and floated it up to caress his face, causing Heero to release a calming sigh.

"That's fine," Relena said reassuringly with the most gorgeous of smiles, Heero thought. "Let's not use any, then."

She guided him down and Heero had a clear focus in mind when he zeroed in on her lips. They were closing the space between as their faces were growing closer than ever before. Their hearts pistoned at a rapid pace; both of them burning inside from the anticipation. It was a bizarre swirl of anxiety and longing overwhelming their senses.

Their holds on each other grew tighter…

The small breaths they released hovered over the surface of their skin, eliciting shivers rippling through them.

And as they prepared to close the gap…

And as their lips were only separated by less than a centimeter of space…

And then, finally…

"We're gonna catch them fuckin', aren't we?" Duo's unmistakable voice spoke.

"God, I hope not." followed Dorothy's equally recognizable tone. "Or I'll have the Maganacs fumigate this entire bus."

...with matching, frustrated sighs, the two of them pulled apart.

Dorothy and Duo now stood before the sitting pair, neither of them looking very happy to see the new arrivals. "I'm sorry, were you two in the middle of something?" the smirking platinum blonde asked.

"No." Relena responded a little too forcefully. Dorothy raised an amused, forked brow.

"Really?" she replied, hands firmly on hips. "Am I going to have to take a black light to that comfortable couch you two are sharing?"

"Dorothy..." Relena sighed.

"What?" Dorothy snickered. She could catch Heero at the corner of her eyes staring daggers into her.

"Why're you two here, anyway?" the irritated Relena questioned.

"Uh, I ride this bus, so I don't need a reason to come here." Dorothy scoffed.

"Honestly, I'm just being nosy." a grinning Duo admitted. "I heard she was looking for you guys, so I just followed." He also didn't feel like moving any more shit around.

"Also, I needed you to help me go over some things for tonight, so I was looking all over the place for you." Dorothy shifted her eyes between the two unhappy sitting musicians, knowing full well that she and Duo were interrupting… something. "But I'll understand if you two need a little more time. All I ask is that you take this to their bus, Relena." Dorothy explained. "My bus isn't the place for road tail."

"Shut up." Relena huffed, pushing herself off the seat. "C'mon, lets go."

"My, my." Dorothy taunted. "So testy." The two of them began to make their way out of the bus, but before they could progress any further, Relena turned to look back at the man she damn near kissed.

"Oh, Heero." He stood up as he acknowledged her. "So, should I just go with how I originally wrote it, or like, should I just change some of the parts?"

The two of them were working on Relena's songs before they started jamming away on random tracks. She asked for his advice and Heero has no problem helping her out if she needed it.

"Like I said," Heero reached over to grab the neck of his acoustic guitar. "I like how you originally wrote it up, but ultimately the decision is yours."

Relena regarded him with a warm smile and a softened gaze before nodding at him. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

"Is that coded language for 'meet me in your bus after sound check and don't forget the condoms'?" Dorothy looked at the two of them. "Oh wait, you're on the pill, never mind."

"Why are you still standing there?" Relena's head whipped back, now beginning to push Dorothy off the bus. "Move!"

"My goodness!" Dorothy puffed. "Between you and Wufei, the sexually repressed sure are an angry lot."

The two women argued their way out as they left Duo and Heero alone in the Jezebels tour bus. Duo observed Heero as he held his guitar out in front of him. "You aren't mad at me, are ya'?" Duo asked the frontman.

Heero blinked at his bandmate before looking back at the guitar, twirling it in his grasp. "Do you want me to be?"

"No…" Duo watched him sit back down. Heero began strumming away at the song he currently called 'Heaven Hill', though it would have a different title by the end of the night. "I just figured you would be since we screwed up your private time with the princess."

Heero rolled his eyes. What a ridiculous nickname, he thought. "I probably should be mad." Heero kept strumming away.

"But you're not."

"Nope."

"How come?" Duo asked, arms crossed in front of him as he looked at his dear leader curiously.

"Let's just say…" Heero already began filling up the empty spaces of the song in his head. And the new title had already been settled on. "I'm feeling a little inspired right now."

* * *

Relena stood by the scaffolding that was set up at the side of the stage. The lights were down and the crowd was going ballistic like they tended to do during these shows. Right now, the audience were being entertained by the distorted sounds of Heero's band.

_He lives in his imagination with those friends of his very own_

_He doesn't get along with the outside world, he'd rather be alone_

_Sometimes when it's late at night, he starts to wonder why_

_The plans he made can never happen so all he does is cry_

They were currently ripping through 'Whatever', which was by far Relena's favorite song off _Zen Arcade_. She always did her best to make sure she was around whenever they played this song. Heero always tore through it with all the emotion he could spill out. Now she knew it was all that 'childhood trauma' he mentioned that fueled the fire it took to perform it the way he did.

_His parents, they can't understand why their son, he turned out wrong_

_He runs away from all the pain, forgets them when he's gone_

_He'd rather be all by himself because his plans they seem the best_

_He finally gets the nerve one day, now life becomes a test_

Tonight, however, she wasn't just watching Heero perform her favorite Do You Remember? song just because she loved it. No, she was there specifically because Heero told her to be there.

It was a strange request, Relena thought. After they had finished setting up for Heero's band to take the stage, he pulled her to the side and told her that he wanted, no needed, her to be there for the song he would play after 'Whatever'. When she asked him why, all he said was that he was going to need her opinion on the song when their set was all over, so it was imperative that she be there.

Relena noticed that he looked kind of nervous when he asked her. He wouldn't even look at her; his head constantly shifting around as if he was uncomfortable about something. She had to reach out and give his hand a squeeze with the intention of calming him down. She would've much rather pulled him down into that kiss they were supposed to share before Dorothy came looking for her, but that would just have to wait.

Well, she hoped that they would get another chance anyway.

Instead, she gave him a small hug which he affectionately returned.

_Whatever you want, whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever you say_

_Whatever you want, whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever you say_

The song continued on with Heero roaring into the mic about all the pain he was willing to share on record; those lyrics escaping those lips she wished she would have closed the gap on. What their relationship would've turned into had they kissed she had no idea, but she knew that she was more than willing to find out.

_Mom and dad, I'm sorry_

_Mom and dad, don't worry_

_I'm not the son you wanted but what could you expect?_

_I've made my world of happiness to combat your neglect_

Heero wanted to blast through this song as fast as he could. He told Wufei and Trowa to kick it up another gear as he wanted desperately to get to the next one on the set list. A new song would make its debut tonight; it was a song that would appear on _New Day Rising _as soon as they got a chance to record it. Tonight, he would play it in its rawest possible form.

After the time he spent with Relena earlier today, the words he was looking for just popped right into his head. Finally, thanks to Relena, he was able to complete the song formerly known as 'Heaven Hill'. Performing it tonight in front of this crowd… in front of her… would be his way of thanking the woman.

And now, the beating of his heart began to match the speed of the song he was currently playing. Good thing the ending was coming around…

_Whatever you want, whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever you say_

_Whatever you want, whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever you say_

They repeated that refrain until the song devolved into a mess of feedback and unintelligible shouts and growls. Then, the song faded away with a good response from those tossing around in the pit before them.

Heero looked around at his band, all of them getting off of their equipment. He marched over to the amps and speakers, checking to see if everything was set at the appropriate levels. Stepping back up towards the mic stand he began picking at the strings. His heart continued to thump at a pace that made him feel like his chest would explode. The pick in his fingers continued to carefully pluck away, hoping the sounds of his loud, fuzzy guitar would soothe him someway.

He hadn't felt this uneasy on stage since he first started playing live. His jaw tightened, and he spun his head over to see her standing there, watching him.

Relena

He wanted to let his mind drift away and think about what would've happened had Duo and Dorothy not pulled up on them unexpectedly. But right now wasn't the time. He had a song to perform… and a girl to perform it for.

Heero took one last deep breath. He exhaled and composed himself as much as he could. From there, he proceeded to do something he rarely did by talking directly to the crowd.

"This will be on the next record." he spoke. "It probably won't sound like this though."

That was all he needed to say. He was up there, alone, in front of a mass of people looking up towards him. But honestly, he only felt one pair of eyes scoping him out. With one more look towards the woman with golden colored hair, his hand began strumming away at the chords he had already become so familiar with.

The lone sound of his fuzzbox affected guitar filling up the room in a tornado of emotional distortion.

He chose to play the stripped down version of this song because, well, there was no other version of it yet.

Just him and his guitar, singing for the woman who inspired it.

He spoke to the audience again.

_There's a girl who lives on heaven hill_

_I go up to her cabin still_

_She keeps a lantern lit for me_

_And a bottle up on her mantelpiece_

Relena folded her arms across her chest as she watched his solo performance. 'Heaven Hill'. She recognized that name. It was the title of that song Heero said he was having a hard time with. "Huh." she muttered to herself. So he wanted her to see the finished product? Is that what this was? Okay, not like she wasn't curious to hear it.

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

Heero's voice went up another level when he went for that chorus. He strained his voice to go at a higher pitch, but he was only getting started. He would make sure he used all the passion he had to translate this song to her.

'_Relena… thanks. This one's for you.' _

_She's got a big room and it's always a mess_

_Worn out shoes and a worn out dress_

_A worn out smile that she'll wear some more_

_And a worn out welcome mat by her door_

As the mixture of Heero's voice and his guitar invaded her ears, something started to bug Relena. They had been working on her songs earlier that day, but she also remembered asking him if he had made any progress on 'Heaven Hill'.

He told her no.

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

As she watched him run through what appeared to be the guitar solo section of the song, she began to wonder exactly when Heero felt inspired enough to finish this song. Unless he was lying to her, Heero had finished this song today… sometime after their near kiss…

Did something happen in between that short amount of time that beckoned him to complete it?

Or was it…

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill_

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill_

Relena continued putting the pieces together and she ended up coming to a weird conclusion. At first, she couldn't believe the answer she came to. She tried thinking it over again, but there wasn't anything else that made sense. But, it couldn't be, right?

Was this song… about her? She went through the evidence again.

He wrote it in between the time they almost kissed and, she assumed, when he requested her to watch him play this song.

He seemed so nervous when he asked her to the point where she had to hug him to help calm him down. He never gave a reason for his nervousness, but now…

And then, there were the lyrics.

_I'd trade big mountains and rooms full of gold!_

_For just one look at the beauty of this woman's soul!_

The lyrics were about a girl and Heero screamed them as loud as he could. His voice strained to the point of cracking, turning into a visceral caterwaul.

Relena was far from vain, but the more thought she gave it, the more she arrived at the realization that, yes, this song… was about her.

A slight tremor erupted inside of her and breathing became slightly irregular. She clutched at the fabric of her shirt and she strangely felt a small tear fall from her eye. She quickly wiped at it and kept her smile up, aiming it directly at the man singing to her. The sound of a sob escaped her but she quickly turned it into a laugh. She swallowed hard and bit her lip.

'_Thank you, Heero.' _she inwardly spoke to him.

_Up on heaven hill is where I wanna be!_

_That girl, that bottle, that mattress and me!_

'_Thank you.' _Relena continued. _'I'm here to stay, Heero. But now, there's something I have to do.' _

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

_She's the girl who lives on heaven hill!_

After his final scream of the chorus, Heero's guitar slowly died down, dissolving into the end of the song. Heero closed his eyes and exhaled. He heard the audience applaud his intimate performance of this new song; opening his eyes to see the hands clapping and the crowd cheering.

They took to that song better than he thought. Maybe it was the town they were in?

But he knew this song was meant for someone else. He looked over to find Relena… only to see she wasn't there anymore.

"Relena?"

* * *

She quickly rushed down the hall, and past the green room. She didn't even notice running past Hilde and Dorothy on the way out.

"Hey, Lena!" Hilde called out to her. "Where are you going?"

"Someone seems to be in a hurry." Dorothy added, giving Relena a funny look.

"Oh," Relena paused for a second to look back at them. "Sorry, I have to go back to the bus."

"The bus?" Dorothy eyed Hilde curiously before returning her vision back to Relena. "What for?"

The honey blonde grinned. "Let's just say I'm feeling a little inspired right now."

* * *

**AN: Fun fact about me: I cannot write while listening to music. Weird, right? I LOVE LOVE LOVE music, but I can't concentrate on anything else when something I enjoy is playing through the speakers. I just want to sing and dance like an idiot. **

**Hüsker Dü - "Never Talking to You Again" (One of the few songs I would actually recommend people listen to. If you have a 1:40 to spare...)**

**Hüsker Dü - "Whatever"**

**Hüsker Dü - "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill"**


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